The Song That Calls Me Home
by Foreverfirstloves
Summary: Sixteen years ago, Damon left Elena to chase his music. Now he's back in Mystic Falls, and she's terrified. Damon is thrilled to see his former love...until he finds out about the guy in her life. A fifteen year old, with blue eyes and black hair. He decides he wants to be there for his son, for Elena...but she wants him to choose: Family or Fame. Will he be able to let go?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, guys, new fic!  
I'm so excited about how fast this came together! I can't wait to hear what you think!**

**Disclaimer: TVD is not mine.**

**Most of the songs used are not mine...we're just going to pretend like Damon wrote them ;)**

**Please, please review, and let me know your opinion!**

* * *

The summer air was thick, but breezy enough that the campfire wasn't too much of an over kill.  
Elena pulled another marshmallow from the nearby bag, popping it into her mouth.  
It was nights like this that she loved.  
Her closest friends, all gathered together under a blanket of stars. Campfire, smores, hot dogs, and music included.

"Sing something?" Caroline asked, looking up at Damon, who was strumming his guitar.  
He nodded, and the tune changed to a slower melody.  
He lifted his head, and smiled over at Elena.  
She got up from her seat on the ground, and moved to where her boyfriend was, as she recognized the music.  
"You got this with me?" he asked.  
Elena nodded, "Of course."  
He picked up the strokes he made across the strings, and soon his beautiful voice filled the air with a classic they'd karaoke'd together many times.

"_Livin' my life in a slow hell  
Different girl every night at the hotel  
I ain't seen the sun shine in 3 damn days  
Been fuelin' up on cocaine and whisky  
Wish I had a good girl to miss me  
Lord I wonder if I'll ever change my ways  
I put your picture away  
Sat down and cried today  
I can't look at you while I'm lyin' next to her  
I put your picture away, sat down and cried today  
I can't look at you, while I'm lyin next to her._"

Damon finished his line, and turned his deep blue eyes on Elena.  
She smiled at him, waiting for the note that symbolized that it was her turn to sing.

"_I called you last night in the hotel  
Everyone knows but they won't tell  
But their halfhearted smiles tell me  
Somethin' just ain't right  
I been waitin' on you for a long time  
Fuelin' up on heartaches and cheap wine  
I ain't heard from you in 3 damn nights  
I put your picture away  
I wonder where you been  
I can't look at you while I'm lyin' next to him  
I put your picture away  
I wonder where you been  
I can't look at you while I'm lyin' next to him_ "

Elena knew she hit the note perfectly, she always did, as she lost herself in the music.  
"_I saw ya yesterday with an old friend_…"

"_It was the same ole same 'how have you been'?_"

They're voices harmonized perfectly, as they hit the middle of the song.  
Damon grinned as they synchronized the line.

"_Since you been gone my world's been dark and grey_."

Damon:  
"_You reminded me of brighter days_…"

Elena:  
"_I hoped you were comin' home to stay…I was headed to church-_"

Damon:  
"_I was off to drink you away!_"

Both:  
"_I thought about you for a long time  
Can't seem to get you off my mind  
I can't understand why we're living life this way  
_

_I found your picture today  
I swear I'll change my ways  
_

_I just called to say I want you to come back home  
I found your picture today  
I swear I'll change my ways  
I just called to say I want you to come back home  
_

_I just called to say, I love you, come back home._"

The teens around the campfire clapped loudly at the end of their duet, and Caroline smiled.  
"So when are you guys going to try out for American Idol?" she teased.  
"Very funny," Elena smirked, as Damon moved to sit his guitar behind them.  
Stefan, who was sitting next to her, shrugged, "No, I could actually see it. You two sound great together."  
Damon chuckled, "Don't go giving her ideas, brother. Elena's got her heart set on being a doctor."  
The brunette shook her head at him, "Actually, it's my father who wants me to be a doctor, thank you very much."  
Damon just smirked, "Well you know what they say about apples and trees."  
Elena nudged him, "Like you can talk…what does your dad do again? Hmm? Yeah, that's what I thought."  
"Hey, just because he's a business man doesn't mean shit," Damon defended, "He never pressed me into following in his shoes."

Stefan raised a brow, "No, but he wasn't too happy about your choice in majors."  
Damon shrugged, "He'll get over it."  
Elena looked up at her boyfriend, "Why, what did he say?"

Placing an arm around her shoulder, Damon shrugged, "Nothing really. He just doesn't think the music industry is a very promising future."  
Elena's eyebrow raised, "Has he even heard you sing? Not to mention the number of instruments you play…"  
Damon kissed her forehead, "It doesn't really matter, babe. I graduated, and in the fall I'll be on my way across the country. He won't have a say in the matter."

Elena nodded, leaning further into his side.

She didn't like thinking about the end of summer.  
Because she would be going back to Mystic Falls High, and Damon was going off to college, in California.  
The UCLA had an amazing musical program, and he had gotten a full scholarship.  
Not that she wasn't proud of him, or happy that he was getting out of this town, away from his over judgmental father, and all the other bull shit that came with being a member of the founding families, but she was going to miss him.

Telling herself that he would still come home for holidays, and the rest of the summer, she brushed it off. She was here to have fun, and to enjoy the time she had left with him.

"Have you guys seen the stars tonight?" Her friend Bonnie called from across the fire, where she was laying on a sleeping bag, next to Matt, Mystic Fall's Quarterback.  
"They're bright aren't they!" Caroline gushed immediately, looking up.  
Elena couldn't help but stare up at the heavens as well.  
"It's beautiful," she admitted, as a million twinkling lights winked back at her.  
"Not as beautiful as you," Damon whispered into her ear, and she smiled.  
He was always saying sweet things like that.

She turned her head toward him, and he placed a small kiss on her lips.  
"I love you," she told him.  
He dropped his forehead to hers, "I love you too, Elena."

"Does anyone know what time it is?" Mason asked from his sleeping bag, on the other side of Stefan and Caroline.  
"Uh, it's about 2," Matt answered, checking his watch.  
"Ugh, I have to be back home by at least ten tomorrow," Caroline complained, moving to adjust her own sleeping bag, "I have got to start planning the Back to School Bonfire."  
Elena flinched, realizing that Damon wouldn't be going to it this year. She distracted herself by following the others leads and getting ready for sleep.  
She looked up at Damon, "Are you going to lay down too?"  
He shook his head, "Nah, I think I'm going to play for a little bit…if that's alright?"  
A few agreements from the group sounded, and he smiled lightly, picking up his guitar again.  
Elena laid down, using his knee as a pillow while he played.

Half an hour later, she was sure that everyone else was asleep, but Damon was still playing.  
The tune had switched to something more melodic, slow and almost pretty.  
She adjusted herself, sitting up slightly, "What was that?"  
He looked at her, pausing, "Nothing really…just something I've been working on."  
She smiled sleepily, "I like it. It sounds pretty."  
He sat up a bit straighter, "I wrote it for you. Do you want to hear it?"  
She nodded, waking up a little more as she crossed her legs, facing him now.

The music was soft, and his voice was low, but the song had her smiling.

"_He finally gave in to his friend's girlfriend  
When she said, "there's someone you should meet"  
At a crowded restaurant way cross town  
He waited impatiently  
When she walked in their eyes met  
and they both stared  
And right there and then everyone else disappeared but_

_One boy, one girl, two hearts beating wildly  
To put it mildly it was love at first sight  
He smiled, she smiled, and they knew right away  
This was the day they'd waited for all their lives  
And for a moment the whole world revolved  
Around one boy and one girl._"

He played out a few more chords, but Elena could feel tears in her eyes.  
That was exactly what meeting him had been like.  
It had been instant chemistry.  
At the time, Caroline had been dating Enzo, a friend of Damon's, and she was insistent that Elena meet Damon.  
They went to the same school, so Elena knew of him, but she was fifteen, and he was seventeen, so it wasn't like they hung out.  
But that night…it had been perfect.  
They had met at the Grill, and the second they got talking, Elena knew that she was falling in love with this blue eyed musician.

He was so passionate, so intriguing that she had to have more of him.  
He had apparently felt the same, because after he drove her home, he asked her on another date.  
Then another, and another.  
That was almost two years ago, and now she couldn't imagine her life without him in it.

"That was amazing," she complemented, "Seriously, I loved it."  
He put the guitar down and moved closer to her, pulling her into his arms, "Thanks, but I doubt the lyrics are what made you cry."  
She swallowed, brushing a tear from her cheek, "No, your lyrics were perfect."  
"Then what's wrong?" he pressed.  
She sighed, "Nothing really…it just seems like everything's moving so fast…and I'm not ready to lose you."  
She knew that he'd understand what she meant.  
"You won't, Elena, I promise."  
She blinked up at him, "But you'll be so far away…"  
He kissed her.  
"I know, babe…but we'll talk all the time, and I'll be back for Christmas, then spring break, then summer again. And you'll have graduated by then, and by fall, we'll be back in school together."

Elena sighed, but nodded, "I know…it's just going to be weird, not having you around all the time, anymore."  
Damon laid them down, pulling the sleeping bags together.

Once they were settled, laying on top of hers and under his, he replied.  
"I'm going to miss you, too, Elena. But everything will work out. You'll see."  
She nodded, turning in his arms, "Promise not to fall in love with a college girl while you're gone?"  
He chuckled lightly, 'I do. As long as you promise not to let any other high school boy sneak into your bedroom."

With a grin she nodded, "Deal."  
"Good," he smiled, "Because I'm the only one allowed to do that."  
He leaned down to kiss her again.  
She enjoyed him for a moment, and then his fingers started playing with the hem of her shorts.  
With a quiet laugh, she pulled away, "We aren't alone, Mr. Salvatore."  
His signature smirk floated across his lips, "Then try to be quiet."  
He was kissing her again, then, and she couldn't find anything in her that wanted to fight him.  
So she let it go, and clung to him, like it was the last night they'd ever have to be together.

She didn't know just how close to the mark that feeling was.

* * *

**Okay end of chapter one!**

**Please review and let me know what you think. I need feedback! lol.**

**BTW, big shout out to _AlwaysElisabethian_, who's idea's and opinion have helped this story blossom!**

**So thanks Eli! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! Let me know what you think!**

**:)**

* * *

**16 years later.**

The coffee in her hands felt warmer than usual, thanks to the brisk outside air, but Elena wasn't complaining. She loved the cold.  
She got into the car, and waited for Caroline, who finally climbed into the driver's seat.  
"I swear, it's not even November yet!" the blond complained, "Why does it feel like it should be snowing already?"  
Elena shrugged, "No idea. You can ask Tom when we get to the station."  
Caroline nodded, starting the car.  
For years now, both girls had been working at a big news/magazine company, just a twenty-minute drive from Mystic Falls.  
Elena enjoyed writing the advice column, while Caroline had pursued a career as a Journalist.  
A few years ago, the blond had married Stefan, and had been blessed with two children since.  
Elena was happy for her friend, and had eventually gotten her own life in order.  
"So I think Valentina is wanting all of us over for Thanksgiving dinner," Caroline informed her.  
Elena nodded, "Yeah, she called me. Though it's beyond me why she is trying to plan this so far in advance. It's still over a month away."  
Caroline shrugged, "Eh, could never hurt to be prepared."  
Elena let it go, taking a sip of her coffee.  
Caroline turned up the heat, then the radio, as they rode in silence.

A few minutes later, Elena flinched, as a growingly familiar tune blew through the speakers.

"_So Come on, come on,  
Baby, I'm buying  
I got enough to last us all night and  
You got the kiss that tastes like honey  
And I got a little beer money  
Tonight, Tonight  
Baby, we're drinkin';  
Lets wake the town that never stops sleeping  
You got the kiss that tastes li_-"

Elena reached over and switched the station.  
"What was that for?' Caroline asked, clearly having been enjoying the song.  
"I just can't right now," Elena told her.  
Caroline's blinked, "Is that one of his? One of Damon's songs?"  
Elena nodded, and Caroline sighed, "It's been forever Elena, when are you going to move on?"  
"It's not about moving on, Care…you know that."  
The blond shot her a sympathetic look, "You never did get in touch with him did you? To tell him about Christian?"  
Elena shook her head, keeping her gaze on her coffee, "No. I figured that if he's been gone this long, there's no point. He clearly has no intention of returning home, so there's no need to drag it up."

These were the same words she'd been telling herself since she first found out she was pregnant, all those years ago.  
Damon had left at the end of that summer, but true to his word, had returned for Christmas.  
Elena had been so excited, so ready to see him.  
The moment she was back in his arms, she felt like she was home.  
They had a perfect day, and one long night…and then it all changed.

She remembered his speech, as if he'd given it to her yesterday.  
About how they were at a fork in the road, going different ways with their lives. They needed to give themselves space, and she needed to be free when she went to college, and should go wherever she wanted, not just to California to follow him.  
It was everything she had feared come true.  
Damon had left, and had gotten over her.  
So a few months after he'd left, when she found out that she was pregnant, she'd refused to tell him.  
Hell, she refused to tell anyone but Caroline and Bonnie at the time.  
But a baby isn't exactly something you can hide, and soon, she'd had to come out to her parents.

Miranda had cried, but Grayson…he'd been furious.  
Elena had never seen her father so angry.  
On top of giving her the scolding of her life, and calling Damon every name in the book, he had demanded that she go to the clinic, to "get rid of it".  
That idea, more than anything, had lit a fire under her.  
There was no way that she was going to get an abortion. She let her father know this too, and luckily, her mother was there to back her up.

It was hard, especially at first.  
Everyone looked at her differently around town, and people whispered behind her back.  
Not that any of that mattered when her son, Christian James Salvatore, was born.  
He became the most important thing in her life, and she worked hard to support him.

Luckily, she had the help of her parents, who after a while, came around to the idea, and treated Chris with nothing but love.  
Then of course, the Salvatore's had stepped up.  
They knew it was Damon's baby, even before Chris was born.  
The whole town knew it.  
And Giuseppe and Valentina had been an enormous help, keeping her name from being drug through too much mud.  
They had also agreed not to mention it to Damon, until Elena could talk to him.  
She had drilled this to them again and again.  
She did not want Damon coming back to Mystic Falls for the ex-girlfriend he knocked up.

Not that it had been an issue.  
Besides from the occasional call to his mother, Damon had all but disappeared.

It wasn't until Christian was four years old, that she heard Damon's voice on the radio.  
Waves of emotions had crashed through her then, and still do now, each and every time she was forced to hear his voice…every time Christian was forced to hear it.

She hated that Christian had never met his father, but it was probably for the best.  
As long as Damon didn't know about Chris, there was no disappointment. It would destroy her if he found out, and chose to have nothing to do with his son.

"You still on earth over there?" Caroline's voice cut through her thoughts."  
Elena blinked, and looked over at her, "What? Yeah…yeah, I'm here."  
The blond chuckled a little, "

"So, uh, how is Chris?"  
Elena sighed, sinking into this topic all to easily, "Same as ever. Did I tell you he got suspended again?"  
"No!" Caroline threw her a look, "What for this time?"  
"Another fight," Elena told her, "He only got three days this time, but still. I'm running out of punishments."  
Caroline sighed, "There's always a good old fashioned grounding…"  
Elena scoffed, "He's already grounded for life. And I've taken away his Xbox, and threatened that I'm not going to pay for his driver's class if he keeps it up."  
"Damn, is he fifteen already?"  
Elena chuckled, "Don't remind me."  
"Well, maybe it's just a phase. God knows we weren't the perfect teenagers."  
Elena raised a brow, "Obviously…he wouldn't be here if we were."  
"Good point," her friend noted.  
"Still, though, I think it's more than classical rebellion. His grades are perfect…and his manners are usually good. He doesn't really fight me on his punishments or anything…he just doesn't behave when he's not at home…and I can't keep him home indefinitely."

They pulled into the building's parking lot.  
"Maybe you just need to get your mind off of it," Caroline proposed, "Maybe go on a date or something….wasn't Elijah interested?"  
Elena nodded, "Yeah, he was. We did go out, actually."  
Caroline parked the car, and glanced over, "I take it from your tone that it was a bust?"  
"Pretty much…thanks to my lovely son. God, I'm lucky I still have a job."  
Caroline's eyes widened, "What happened? And I don't think Elijah would fire you for personal reasons…he's always seemed more respectable than that."  
"He is," Elena insisted, "But you know how Chris is….I left them alone downstairs for ten minutes after our dinner, and that was it. I walked Elijah to his car afterwards, and he seemed…uncomfortable. I still don't know what Christian told him, but this wouldn't be the first date of mine he's chased off."

Caroline's brows drew together, "Do you know why he does it?"  
Elena shrugged, "Maybe he's afraid of change? I don't know…it's not like he'd ever go to a counselor, and he definitely isn't going to talk to me about it, so I might as well get use to not knowing.

They got out of the car, and began walking toward the building.  
"Well, if you need some time to yourself, Stefan and I are taking the kids to the lake this weekend…we can take Chris with us," Caroline offered, "He usually has fun up there."  
Elena considered this, "Thanks…I'll ask him."  
Caroline nodded, and they walked the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

The studio apartment was small, and reeked of booze.  
But Damon couldn't care less.  
He sat on the edge of his bed, a guitar in his hands for what seemed like the first time in forever.  
"Can you actually play that thing?" a female voice called from the other side of the bed.  
He glanced over at her, not realizing she was awake…what was her name? Brenda? Or maybe Brittany? He'd only caught it briefly as they were leaving the bar the night before.  
Same old routine…

Except for the dream he'd had last night.

Those had stopped years ago, and he was a little surprised that it had randomly popped into his head.  
"I guess we'll find out," he answered her, and strummed a few chords.  
Admittedly, he was a bit rusty.  
But he hadn't had to actually play in years.  
All of the music was done in the studio now days, and in concert, he had the entire borrowed band to do his sounds.  
All he had to do was sing the words they told him to.  
Like a puppet on a string.

His fingers traced over the strings of the guitar again and again.  
He liked the sound of her.  
It was a simple acoustic that he'd won in a poker game the night before, but it played good as new.  
Before long, a familiar melody was sounding from his fingertips.  
He closed his eyes, the words coming back to him.

"_One boy, one girl, two hearts beating wildly  
To put it mildly it was love at first sight  
He smiled, she smiled, and they knew right away  
This was the day they'd waited for all their lives  
And for a moment the whole world revolved  
Around one boy and one girl…_"

He trailed off at the end, unwanted emotions clouding his thoughts.  
That was a long time ago, a life of "what could have been's".  
Not that he didn't have a lifetime of regret because of his choices then. The promises made, and the lies he'd told…they'd all quit making sense years ago.

"That was good," his bed guest praised, "I can see why you're famous."  
He wanted to roll his eyes. That girl wouldn't know the difference between a lyric and a melody, let alone what it takes to be famous…and being able to sing really had nothing to do with it.  
Instead, he just thanked her.  
"Sooo," she sat up, draping his sheets around her naked form, "You want to go get breakfast or something, baby?"  
He sighed, putting the guitar down on the bed, making a mental note to wash his sheets.  
"No, I actually have somewhere to be soon…so uh, you're actually going to have to leave."

She gave him the same affronted look they always gave him.  
Like bringing them home for one night meant he was ready to wine and dine them.

They all dreamed that they would be the one who he'd chose to flaunt in front of the paparazzi, their one glimmering chance of getting in a spotlight.

He didn't wait around to see if she did leave, or to see if she chose to wreck his entire place, which had happened in the past.  
All he wanted was a nice long shower, then another drink.  
Unfortunately, since he had to meet up with Alaric, his manager, in just a few hours, only one of those things were an option.  
He shook his head, heading toward the bathroom, praying the day would just speed by.  
And that, this time, it would remember to take him with it.

* * *

**Sooo...?**

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**Yeah, the one that says "review".**

**Click it. **

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	3. Chapter 3

**Yay!**

**So the reviews were, as always, very positive and motivating!  
I love you guys, really! Thanks for showing such amazing interest and encouragement each time I post!**

**Also, I need to mention that I will be without Wi-Fi next week, but i promise an update by Sunday, the 25th!**

**Anyway...on to chapter three!**

* * *

For the first time in a while, Elena actually beat the school bus to her house.  
She took advantage, and decided to tidy up some.  
Not that the house was really dirty, but she worked a lot, and Chris tended to let the dishes and laundry pile up.  
She wished she could be home more, but working full time was the only way she could afford their little two bedroom home, her car, plus living expenses.  
She sighed, trying not to let it get to her.

She was exchanging the dishes out when Christian walked in.  
"Hey, sweetie," she smiled at him.  
"Hey," he answered, walking into the kitchen, "You're home early."  
She nodded, as she finished stacking, "I got the column turned in sooner than I thought, and anyway…how was school?"  
He shrugged as he slid off the shoulder strap of his backpack, and put it on the counter.  
"School's school. Boring classes, too much homework…you know."  
She nodded, as he turned to the cabinet, "Do we have any snack food?"  
"Check the top shelf."  
He raised a brow, before reaching up there, and pulling down some chips and snack cakes.  
"What?" she shot, "If I don't keep them out of my reach, I'll eat them."  
He chuckled, "It's sad that I'm so much taller than you."  
She laughed with him, "That's because you inherited your father's legs."  
Christian's joking mood diminished, "Yeah…and his hair, and his eyes, and his bone structure, and his attitude, or so Grandmother says."  
Elena smiled gently, "Oh no, baby, that attitude was all mine."  
He smiled reluctantly, then sighed, taking a seat on a stool next to the island across from her.

"Do you ever think about him? My dad?"  
Elena paused, before looking over at her son. In truth, Valentina was right, he was the spitting image of Damon. From his black hair and blue eyes, to his narrow build and long legs, not to mention that sarcastic smirk.  
It would be impossible to see the boy and not think of Damon.

"All the time," she answered truthfully.

Chris nodded, opening up the chip container, and pulling a handful out.  
Elena wanted to press further, but she knew that Christian was a lot like her in that area…he would open up when he was ready.  
So she remained silent, and sure enough, a few minutes later, he spoke up.

"Mom?"  
She stopped wiping the counters and looked at him, "Yeah?"  
"Is it okay to hate him?"

Elena stared at him for a few seconds, measuring her answer.  
"I think it's…natural, to be angry…to want to hate him…but I also think that this is a situation where there really isn't a blame to be placed."  
Christian raised a brow, "But he left us…he never bothered to come back…"  
Elena nodded, "I know, baby, I know…but you have to remember, he doesn't know he has a reason to come back."  
"Because he doesn't even know I exist," Christian reminded her accusingly.  
Her head hung a little, "At the time, that's what was best…and then all these years passed, and it's hard to just come out with something like that."

"Because not having him know is so much better," Chris challenged.  
Elena met his gaze, "I never said that. Look, I've made mistakes, Chris. I'm not perfect. But I love you, and I've only tried to do what's best by you. And to be honest, after all this time, I have no idea who Damon is anymore. And even if I did tell him, I don't know what to expect. I don't know if he'd want to meet you, or if he'd even want anything to do with us…and I love you too much to put you in that position."

Christian considered this, then nodded.  
"I get why you did it, Mom. I just wish…," he huffed, trailing off.  
"Wish that what?" she asked.  
"I don't know," he shrugged, "That I things were different, I guess."  
Elena nodded, "I wish they were too, babe. But you and I have done alright, haven't we?"  
Chris smiled a little, "Yeah."  
"Good," Elena smiled back, "Now…what are you doing this weekend?"  
Chris raised a brow, "Nothing…I'm grounded, remember."

Right.  
"Well, Caroline and Uncle Stefan are taking Gabe and Emma to the lake house. They invited you too."

His mood literally raised, "Are they going to have the four-wheelers?"  
Elena shrugged, "Not entirely sure, but I don't see why they wouldn't…do you want to go?"  
He nodded, then hesitated, "So am I ungrounded?"  
Elena considered this, "Maybe…but we need to discuss terms of surrender."  
Chris grinned, "Okay, what are they?"  
Elena thought it through, "You are free this weekend. But when you come back, you will still have certain restrictions."  
He nodded, so she continued, "No going out on weekends, for the rest of the month, but we can negotiate on week days…and you can use your Xbox on weekends only, if you forfeit a month's allowance, and help set up for the Christmas ball in a few months."

Chris's brows furrowed as he considered this, "Okay…but can I at least have April come over on the weekends?"  
Elena knew April Young was Christian's girlfriend.  
"Saturday's. And she leaves by nine-thirty."  
"Deal," Chris smiled.  
"But all of that is only affective if you stay out of trouble."  
He nodded, "And keep good grades, and don't get in fights, and say my prayers, and do community service, and sacrifice a virgin on an altar of fire…I get it, Mom."  
He smirked in a way that reminded her scarily of his father, "Okay, smart ass."  
He just grinned and began to pull his homework out of his back pack.

* * *

Damon propped his feet up on Alaric's desk, knowing that it irritated the man. But he was too bored to care.  
He'd been sitting in the same room for over an hour while Alaric was in a meeting, and Damon knew that it was only postponing the lecture he was going to get for something he'd probably fucked up without even knowing.  
It seemed like he did that a lot.

Still though, pissing off his one, and only, friend in this business probably wasn't a very good idea, especially since his job, or lack thereof was determined by it.

Sighing, he dropped his feet back to the floor, just as the door opened.  
"Damon…you're actually here."  
He nodded, "Yeah, and on time, might I add, which you, coincidentally, were not."

Alaric took a seat in his chair across from Damon.  
"Sorry, once those old men get talking, there is no shutting them up…I see you found my bourbon."

Damon glanced at the drink in his hand, "Oh, yeah, I'll replace it, but I got tired of just waiting…especially since I could be at my apartment, having hot shower sex with a needy blond whose name _still_ escapes me."  
Alaric raised a brow, "Long night then?"  
Damon sat up, "They're all long…but we can skip the idle chit chat. You called me in here for a reason?"

Ric nodded, "Yeah, I did, actually."  
He pulled a folder from his desk, and handed it to Damon.  
"Oh, song lists," Damon commented as he took it, "Yeah, I snooped through the stuff you had laying around while I waited. Why do I need these?"  
Ric shook his head at his friend, "Because the company wants you to sing them."  
Damon chuckled dryly, before seeing the guys face, "Wait…are you serious?"  
"Yep, and I told them there was no way in hell that you'd agree to it."  
Damon scanned the list, "You're right. There's no way in hell."  
Alaric sighed, "So that's where our issue is."

Damon leaned back in his chair, "What issue? I'll sing what they give me, same as always, as long as it isn't this crap...seriously. A five year old could come up with better lyrics."  
Ric stared at him, "That won't work anymore, Damon. The board thinks that you've lost your edge. Whatever was inspiring you when you started here…it's gone now. It's obvious to everyone that there is no emotion in anything you perform. None of it's real. They want to try you out on something else."

"Real?" Damon tested the word.  
"Yeah…now this," Alaric pulled open a different file, "These are some of your hits from a few years back."  
He handed Damon the file, "This is what the board is looking for."  
Damon looked it over, then closed it, "That's because I was actually writing back then."  
"So why don't you write now?" Ric challenged.  
Damon sighed, "Out of practice, to be honest."  
"No," Alaric chided, "You got lazy. You got use to them telling you what to sing, and where to sing it…but that's not what you came here for."  
Damon raised a brow, "And what do you know about what I came here for?"  
Ric scoffed, "Please, Damon. I've known you longer than anyone else in this city. When you came here, you had passion, drive, aspiration. You need to find that again, or you can say goodbye to your career."

Damon rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, that's not exactly something the doctor can prescribe for me on demand, Ric."  
Alaric nodded, "Oh, I know. That's why I asked the board to extend you a leave of absence."  
This got Damon's attention, "A what?"  
"A leave of absence," Alaric clarified, "I want you to get your ass out of town. I don't care where you go, or what you do, but you go, get refreshed, and in a month or so, come back with some new, fresh material."

Damon blinked at him, "Are you being serious, man?"  
"I wouldn't joke about this, Damon. You are losing yourself here. You need to get away. And I say this, both as your manager, and as your friend. I'll be in touch with you through email, so you can send me the new stuff as it comes to you."

Damon raised a brow, "And where exactly am I supposed to go for this fresh outlook on my inner being? A beach in Pompeii?"  
Alaric sighed, "_H__ome_, Damon. Just go home."

Huh. Home.

Now there was an idea.

Hell, he hadn't been to Mystic Falls since…since Grayson Gilbert all but ran him out of town.

He recalled that night with clarity.  
Grayson had caught him sneaking out of Elena's window, and of course, the man had plenty to say.  
He'd never liked Damon.  
Had never liked the fact that Elena was in love with Damon.

But it wasn't until that night that Damon really understood why.  
The words echoed in his head.

_She's too good for you._

_She deserves better._

_What kind of life can you give her?_

_She's on a path to success._

_You are only dragging her down._

_Distracting her._

The list of reasons he was wrong for Elena Gilbert was endless, but Grayson had certainly tried to fit them all in, that night.

Damon remembered the overwhelming feeling of it all crashing down.

Because it was all true.  
He didn't deserve that girl.  
She was going to grow up, and be a doctor, and have a good, successful career.  
And even though he'd made a name for himself, Grayson was right.  
He wouldn't be able to give Elena the life that she deserved...the life he hoped she'd find.

And then Grayson had told him to leave her. To let her go.  
Had even thrown in a few connections in the music business with the deal.  
So Damon did what he thought was best.  
He backed out, broke Elena's heart, and skipped town.  
With too much regret, but no reason to come back.

Until now.

* * *

**End of Chapter 3! **

**Please review! Let me know if you loved/hated it, and what you'd like to see next!**

**Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys!**

**I'm back, finally! I loved getting all of your reviews, but it made me sad that I couldn't get you the next update immediately!  
Oh well, it's here now :)**

**I really hope you guys like this chapter :)**

* * *

The following Saturday, Elena parked her car in the driveway of the Salvatore's home.  
Valentina had been begging her to bring by the newest addition of the magazine for a week now, and she just now found a moment to catch up.

She was off work, and Christian had left with Stefan and Caroline yesterday.  
And the rest of her weekend was going to be focused on relaxing, as soon as she dropped this off.

She just hoped that Val was home.  
But seeing as it was ten on Saturday morning, she didn't see why she wouldn't be.  
Elena pushed her hair to the side and straightened her sun glasses.  
It was oddly bright out for such crisp air.

With a shiver, she grabbed the magazine, and made her way toward the house.

She knocked a few times, to be polite, before opening the door herself and stepping inside.  
She was glad that the air was much warmer in the foyer.

"Val, you home?" Elena called out, as she heard someone coming down the stairs.  
As she walked to the base, she heard a male voice call up, "I got it."  
She turned the corner as he stepped onto the landing, and almost ran straight into…

Damon.

A shirtless Damon, looking like he hadn't been awake very long, with his ruffled hair, sweat pants, and…was that a bowl of ice cream?  
"Whoa, sorry about that," he offered.  
She was speechless as she stared at him behind her now unnecessary sunglasses.  
He had barely changed at all, and she was shocked at how exact he looked like Christian.  
Oh shit. Christian…  
When words finally found her, she had to swallow, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, uh, I'm Damon…Salvatore. I'm Valentina's eldest…I assume she's who you were looking for, right?"  
Elena could barely force her head to nod.  
There was no recognition on Damon's face…he had no idea who he was actually talking to.  
"I wasn't aware anyone else was…going to be around," she stated, trying to get the dryness out of her throat.  
Damon smirked at her, his gaze sweeping over her body, "Neither was I. And if I had, I would have dressed better…though I'm sure you're enjoying the view."  
A blush rose in her cheeks as his words called her eyes to his exposed torso.

He was definitely something to look at.  
But his teasing tone struck a chord in her, "I've seen better. And it's fine. I doubt I require any favors from _you_."

She swallowed as he stepped closer to her, that hard body of his intimidating her into taking a step back.  
"Say what you will, babe, but most women tend to like the favors I give out."  
She lifted her brow, "Well, I'm not most women…and innuendos of your questionable talent don't exactly appeal to me."

He seemed amused, and leaned in toward her, "Follow me upstairs and I can show you just how appealing my talents can be."  
His voice was a deep purr. Much sexier, and better rehearsed, than when they were last together.

"Does that line work on all the females you try it on?" she challenged.  
Damon considered this, almost boredly, "Usually…though I have to say, not half of them look as good as you do in sunglasses."  
Elena felt a blush rise up as she grabbed the glasses, "I forgot I had them on."  
He only smiled, his presence overwhelming her, but Elena met his piercing gaze.  
"No problem. Now we can see your beautiful brown….doe eyes."

Elena literally watched as it clicked for him. The recognition, embarrassment, and the slight confusion.  
Thankfully though, Val chose that moment to come down the stairs.  
"Elena! Sweetheart, I thought that was you! I wasn't expecting you so early today…"  
Elena sighed, and forced a smile for the kind woman.

* * *

Damon couldn't believe his eyes.  
Hell, he couldn't believe _himself_.  
Elena-fucking-Gilbert.  
That's who he'd been throwing sexual suggestions at.  
His _ex_…the former love of his life.  
Damn the years had been good to her.  
He stood there, blatantly checking her out while his mother talked with her about some magazine, and she avoided his gaze.  
Her legs were as long as they'd ever been, shapely and perfect in her tight jeans.  
Her mane of chocolate hair seemed darker now, but fell beautifully around her face in delicate curls…and her face…

She was no longer a gorgeous teenage girl.  
She was a stunningly beautiful woman.  
Her cheeks had hollowed, her lips had filled, and she definitely had more curves than ever…but those eyes. They were the exact same.  
Same almond shape, framed by the longest, thickest lashes he'd ever seen, and her irises were a warm chocolate pool of emotion.  
No one had eyes like Elena.

He made a mental note to sue the inventor of sunglasses, as he finally caught up to what his mother was saying.  
"Are you sure you have to go so soon?"

He didn't miss the way Elena's eyes flashed toward him.  
"Yes," she answered, in a huskier, sexier voice, than he last remembered, "I have a lot to do at the house and everything…not to mention I should get started on next week's article."  
Damon could practically feel the nerves rolling off of her.  
This wasn't about some damn article…she was running.

"Alright, sweetie, drive safe," Val told her, with a final hug.  
Elena gave her a smile that shot right to Damon's groin, before flashing her eyes at him, "Goodbye, Damon."  
He nodded at her, and watched as she opened the door, and hurried to her car.

Suddenly, a slap on the back of his head broke his concentration.  
"Ow!" he complained, turning his gaze to his mother, "What the hell was that for?"  
Her blue eyes, so similar to his own, narrowed, "You know what!"  
He sighed, "Look, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was _her_."  
Val's brow raised, "I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to…except for maybe not mentioning that by coming home, you meant trying to sleep your way through my guest."  
He fought to roll his eyes, "I was just joking with her, Mom."  
Val's pointed look didn't waiver, "Sure you were...," she sighed, "Damon…I'm happy to have you home…but you have to appreciate the fact that a lot has changed…we haven't seen you in nearly fifteen years."  
He narrowed his gaze, "That's not true. You and Dad came up for Christmas a few years ago…and you've been to a couple of my concerts."  
Valentina's gaze softened, "Yes, baby…but that isn't the same. You haven't once made a trip back to Mystic Falls."  
He shrugged, "I meant to…I just…"  
She nodded, "I get it, Damon. I'd just like to know what's different this time."  
He thought through his answer, "I guess I finally ran out of roads to take."  
Motioning him into the living room, Val took a seat of the sofa.

He sat next to her, and continued, "My music isn't what I wanted it to be. My boss gave me some time off to…find my groove again, get back in the swing of things. He suggested that I come back here, so…"  
"So you wake me up at three in the morning with a big 'Surprise, I'm at your door'," Val teased, and Damon smirked, "Yeah, something like that."  
Val sighed sinking back into her seat, "Well, either way, it's good to have you back."  
Damon nodded, then asked the question that had been pressing on him, "So…what was Elena doing here?"

Valentina's eyebrow raised, but Damon didn't withdraw.  
"She was bringing me a new addition of this magazine I keep up with," she said after a moment, "Elena's been writing the advice column for it for years now."

"Oh."  
This news surprised him.  
An advice columnist? So it looks like Grayson's dream of her following his steps to medical school went down the drain.  
"How is she doing?" he asked quietly, knowing that his mother would be honest.  
Val smiled a little at him, "She's doing well, as far as I know. I see her when I can, but she works a lot. I think she's happy though. She enjoys the column."  
Damon nodded, then, because he couldn't help himself, pressed further, "So…did she ever get married?"  
Val shook her head, and something in Damon's chest clenched.  
He wasn't sure what to think about that.  
He hadn't been to kind to her, when they were kids, because he knew a clean break would be better for them both.  
He didn't deserve her, but if he told her that, she would talk him out of what he had to do.  
That's just how Elena was…she saw the good in people.  
Which is why she deserved to be happy…single or not.  
"Is she seeing anyone?" he asked, genuinely curious.  
His mother crossed her legs, "Why do you want to know?"  
He shrugged, "Nostalgia, curiosity, etcetera."

Val gave him a knowing look, and he chuckled slightly.

"Okay, okay. I'm just wondering. Throw me a bone, would you? Is there someone in her life?"  
His mother chuckled, but answered, "I guess you could say that there is."

There was something teasing in her tone, so he pressed on, "Is he...is it serious?"  
Val nodded, "He's probably the most important person in her life."

Great.

"Oh…well, I'm glad she found happiness."

Val nodded, but didn't elaborate,

Damon looked down, and found that finishing the rest of his ice cream suddenly sounded a lot less appealing.

* * *

Elena was still laying on her bed an hour later.  
Damon was back in Mystic Falls…for an undetermined amount of time, and he still didn't know about their son.  
She didn't even know why he was back, or if he was staying, and was now kicking herself for rushing out, instead of demanding answers.  
Maybe he would leave soon. The she wouldn't have to worry about him finding out about Chris.

She could keep the secret for that long.  
But if he was staying, she needed to find a way to tell him.  
Neither option sounded very appealing at the moment.  
She sighed.  
At least fifteen years had passed since she had last seen that man.  
Why on earth was this such a big deal?  
Was she over their split? Absolutely…but him being back…

It just wasn't going to end well. She just knew it.  
And now Chris was in the middle of it, and she'll be damned if he got hurt too.

Her phone rang, then, pulling her from her inner monologue.  
"Hello?" she answered, not even bothering to check the I.D.  
"Hey, sweetheart!" her mother's voice sounded, "How are you."  
Conflicted.  
"Good," Elena said instead, choosing not to worry her mother at the moment.  
"That's good," Miranda smiled, "I was just needing to know if you were still able to help out with the Fall Festival next weekend? We're a little short on volunteers, so I have to do a head count."  
Elena sighed, but at least this was something she was familiar with.  
"Yeah, I already took off. Caroline and I are both going to be there."  
"Alright, excellent!" Miranda stated, "Do you think Chris will help set up before the parade? I know some of the other high schoolers have signed up."  
Elena pushed her hair out of her face, "He's at the lake house with Caroline and Stefan this weekend, but I'll ask when he gets home tomorrow."  
"Alright…are you okay, sweetie?"  
Elena swallowed, "Of course…why do you ask?"  
Miranda's voice was softer now, "You just seem…down, or something."  
Elena sighed, "Well…what would you say if I told you that I ran into Damon Salvatore this morning?"  
Miranda fell silent.

Literally, silent. For a whole minute.  
Then, finally, "You saw Damon?"

Elena switched into venting mode, "This morning. He was at Valentina's when I stopped by to drop off the magazine for her."

"Does he know?" Miranda asked, and Elena knew automatically that she was talking about Christian.  
"No…and I don't know if I'm going to tell him, so please don't ask me."

She could almost feel her mother nodding, "Okay…just, call me…if something happens."  
Elena rolled onto her back, "I will, I promise."  
"Be careful, baby," Miranda sighed.  
"Planned on it."  
They talked for a little while longer, until Elena decided that she should probably get something started for lunch.  
She hung up, after making Miranda promise not to mention Damon to anyone, and sighed as she threw her phone onto the pillows.  
She laid there for a few minutes, hating life.

Finally, she convinced herself that doing nothing wasn't going to solve anything, and decided to go make a sandwich.  
At least with some food in her stomach, she might think a little clearer.

But then her phone was ringing again.

With an annoyed sigh, she picked it up.  
Valentina.

"Hello?"  
"Elena, hey…"  
That deep voice definitely didn't belong to the grandmother of her child.  
"Damon."  
Why was he calling her?  
"Mom gave me your number…and I just wanted to apologize, for earlier."  
Her answer was stiff, "It's fine."  
She heard him exhale, and could almost imagine his brows furrowing, "No, it isn't…look, can we meet up sometime? To talk?"  
No, no, no. That was a bad idea….

But then again, it could be a fast way to get the answers she needed…and maybe finally, put him behind her.  
"When?"

"Tomorrow? At the grill?"  
Chris was coming home tomorrow…but if she went early, she'd be back in plenty of time.  
And she really needed to know when Damon planned on leaving.  
"Yeah…does noon work for you?"  
"Perfect," he answered, "Thank you."  
She nodded, then remembered that he couldn't see her.  
"See you there."

* * *

Damon stared at the phone as the dial tone played.  
Elena had actually agreed to meet him for lunch.  
He wasn't really sure if that necessarily meant anything, but at least it was a start.  
And he owed her something, for the way he had treated her.  
Both this morning, and all those years ago.

* * *

**Okay that's chapter 4!**

**I hope Delena finally seeing each other again would help make up for the wait! :)  
Please review and let me know what you think!**

**Will Elena come clean? Should she? Or should she let Christian decide?**

**Will Damon tell her the truth about why he left?**

**Leave your ideas and opinions in a review! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, got an update for ya!  
**

**I loved all the reviews! :) I'm glad that most of you seem excited to see how this is unfolds!**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

"What time were you planning on heading back?" Elena asked again from the driver's seat of her parked Sedan.  
"I told you," Caroline's voice echoed through the line, "We'll be heading back in an hour or so."  
"Alright. Just let me know for sure," she told the blond, switching the phone to her other hand so she could finish checking her makeup.  
"I _will_, Elena. Now calm down. Everything's going to be okay."  
Elena sighed, "Yeah, because I'm only about to go talk to the father of my child, who, by the way, has no idea that the boy even exists! Not to mention that I haven't seen him since high school. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get ready? I feel like I'm going to puke."  
"Just breathe," Caroline instructed, "That's just the nerves. But it will be okay. Maybe he'll be leaving soon…"  
"But what if he's not?" Elena pressed.  
"Then he isn't," her friend stated, "and then maybe you can figure out a way to tell him about Christian, then maybe he'll actually want to be in his life. Things happen the way they do for a reason."  
"Oh, don't get all philosophical on me, Care."  
The blond chuckled, "Then don't make me! But you'll see what I mean. Just go in there, have lunch, and try to get your bearings. Let the rest work itself out."  
She sighed, "Yeah, yeah you're right. I'm just freaking out a little."  
"Well, try to calm down," Caroline insisted, "And get your butt in there before he thinks you stood him up."  
Elena scoffed, "No less than he deserves."  
"That may be true," Caroline reasoned, "But you'll never know how to settle this if you don't talk to him."  
"I'm going, I'm going," she promised.  
Caroline laughed, "Okay, call me later. Love ya!"  
"You too, Care."  
She hung up then, taking a deep breath, and got out of her car.  
After locking the doors, she used her window as a mirror to straighten her outfit.  
She hadn't been joking with Caroline.  
It had literally taken her an hour to find a suitable outfit, until she had finally just decided on her dark wash jeans, knee-high boots, and a flowing silk blouse, topped with her long brown coat.  
Simple and sophisticated, yet didn't make her feel like she was on a date.

She fluffed her hair one more time, then took a breath, and began to make her way across the parking lot, into the Mystic Grill.

* * *

Damon had missed this place.  
The light chatter, the cheap booze, the modern music, and the set of pool tables in the back.  
The Grill hadn't changed much from when it was his old hang out place.

Except now a people knew him, and not just in a small town kind of way.

He'd barely been there half an hour, and already a handful of people, mostly females, had stopped to talk to him, and confirm that he was who they thought.

He'd finally, politely, gotten rid of the last of them.  
"Another one?" the young man behind the bar asked, and Damon shook his head.  
Elena had just walked in, and she probably wouldn't appreciate him being drunk through their conversation.

"No thanks," he answered, throwing down a twenty, "But you can keep the change."  
The man thanked him as he got up from his seat, and walked across the semi-crowded restaurant to meet the beautiful woman.

* * *

"I was wondering if you'd show," a voice called, and Elena turned to see Damon walking up.  
She swallowed, trying not to notice how good he looked in his dark jeans and deep blue button up shirt.  
"I told you I would, didn't I?" she challenged, and he nodded.  
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that you might have not have changed your mind," he reasoned, running a hand through his dark hair.  
"Well, I didn't," she pointed out, "So…you want to take a seat?"

Damon nodded, letting her take the lead.  
Focusing on her breathing, she walked past him and found a booth for them to sit at.

He slid in across from her, and she was again astounded at how much Chris favored him.  
Everything, from the hair to the bone structure.  
It was uncanny.

Damon chuckled, "Keep staring, and you're going to make me blush."  
Elena blinked, embarrassed, "Sorry…it's just…it's been a while."  
Damon nodded, "That it has."  
"So…" she started, "Why exactly did you want to meet up?"

Damon grabbed a menu to flip through as he answered, "It seemed…appropriate. Given how we left things yesterday morning."  
"I see your point," she reasoned, "But then again, I wasn't the one inviting me upstairs for a promising display of talents."  
Damon smirked a little, his blue eyes looking up at her, "Touché. That one was on me."  
She raised a brow, "You really had no idea who I was?"

He held her gaze, "I really had no idea who you were. If I had…well, I would have been much more polite."  
Elena hardly believed that was true, "And why's that?"  
He sat back into cushion, "Well, I don't generally make a habit of trying to be a dick."  
"And it might have been a little awkward if you'd known it was me," she challenged, "Given our…history."

Damon considered this, "Maybe just a little."  
A waiter came by to get their drink orders then, and Elena took advantage of the moment to calm herself.  
Once he left, Damon looked back at her, "Look, I just wanted to apologize, alright. I shouldn't have spoken to you the way I did. I'm sorry."  
He seemed sincere enough, so she let it go, "It's fine."  
"And," he continued, "I'm sorry for the way I treated you before I left town."  
Elena's brow raised, "You mean when you broke up with me? Come on, Damon, we were kids then. That was years ago…no need in harboring guilt for it."  
He chuckled slightly, "No, but like you said, we were kids then…stupid kids…and I was a bit harsh."  
She shrugged, "I got over it. Besides, I think you were a little more stupid than I was."  
His eyebrow cocked, "Yeah? Coming from the woman who got us arrested for climbing the water tower her sophomore year."  
Elena smirked, "Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time. At least I wasn't the one that got the group to do shots during detention."  
"Ah, the glory days," Damon grinned, "But if you really want to go there, who was the one that shoplifted from Fred McCormack's supermarket?  
"Oh, like you weren't right behind me, telling me what to hide in my shirt!" Elena accused, with a laugh.  
Damon nodded, "I was…but wasn't the one who got arrested for jumping off of Wickery Bridge. Twice."

"It was a dare!" Elena defended.

Damon chuckled, "So then I guess we can say that we were evenly stupid back then."

Elena nodded, "Yeah, maybe."

* * *

The waiter brought out their drinks then, and they ordered their food.  
"Is this place still good?" Damon asked.  
Elena nodded, "Best food in town."  
Damon chuckled, "Well, judging by the size of Mystic Falls, that isn't saying much."  
"Well we can't all be Hollywood, can we?" she shot.  
Damon raised a brow, "No, I guess not. But to be honest, I'd prefer the Mystic Grill's burgers over Fondue on the Boulevard any day."  
"Then why'd you stay gone so long?" Elena asked, a little accusingly..  
Damon shrugged, thinking of all the time he'd lost track of, "I don't know. I guess I just lost the need to come back. Like I said, I was a stupid kid. But then the years started to pass, and before I knew it, I was hitting my thirties."

"Yeah, time sort of sneaks up on you that way," Elena agreed.  
Damon nodded.  
"So…what made you come back this time?" she pressed.  
"Boss man thought it would be good for me," Damon told her, "Apparently my music isn't what they want it to be."

An odd look crossed Elena's face, which made him curious, "What?"

She cleared her throat, "Well, in all honesty, I'd have to agree."  
Damon raised a brow, "You listen to my music?"  
A light blush colored her cheek, "You're a pretty popular name at the moment…and the radio use to play your hits on a loop."  
"Ah…so what do you think?"

She took a breath, and he got the feeling this would be good.  
"Your stuff in the beginning…it was good. I mean, I've always known you were talented, and I knew that you'd sell your songs…but lately…I don't know…they just don't really seem…you."  
He raised a brow, "Is that right?"  
She nodded, "It's just that your sound has changed. It's all hard music, with pointless lyrics. None of it means anything."  
He considered this. She was pretty much hitting the nail on the head.  
"Yeah, I guess you can say that I've gotten away from my drive. I just sing what they tell me to, now."  
She shook her head, "Well, you can tell that your heart isn't in it."  
He blinked at her.  
How was it that even after all this time, she was still reading him like a book.  
"I guess I just forgot what I was singing for."  
Now it was her brow that raised, "Like you ever needed a reason."  
He gave her a look, "What do you mean?"

She smiled a little, and he was again, stunned by how beautiful she looked, "Just that you didn't use to care. About the opinions, about the depth of the song…you just played. Singing because you could. Because it was something that you loved doing, something that you had a passion for, and that's how it should be."

He couldn't help but agree with her.  
"Maybe it just seemed less complicated then."  
"Yeah," she allowed, "Maybe."  
Damon sighed, praying that their food took a while to cook.  
He wasn't quite ready to say goodbye.

* * *

Elena could barely believe how fast the time was passing as she and Damon swapped stories.  
They had gotten their food, and were picking at the remainder while he told her about some relapse they'd had in the studio.  
She listened, but most of her focus wasn't on the words, but the man himself.  
In nearly fifteen years, almost nothing had changed.

Damon was the same light hearted, deep person he'd always been.  
This made her happy for some reason, thinking that that part of him was able to survive.

"So when do you have to go back?" she asked, once he was finished.  
"In a month or so," Damon shrugged, "They weren't very clear on the when…just that I needed to get back in touch with my muse."  
She chuckled a little, part of her mind easing.  
A month…that wasn't too bad.  
And that gave her time to decide on what she wanted to do about Christian.  
She still hadn't told Damon…wasn't sure that she should…but in a way, it might be inevitable.  
Maybe she'd let Chris decide.

A quiet "hmm" from Damon made her lift her head.  
"What?"

He was looking around, curiously, "Did you notice?"  
She glanced around, not sure what he meant.  
"Um, noticed what?"  
He seemed to be counting the booths, then smiled up at her, "This is _the _booth."  
Elena raised a brow, "_The_ booth?"  
He nodded, "The first time we officially met, when Caroline set us up on that date…this was the booth."

Elena blinked, then looked around again.  
He was right.  
They had been sitting straight down from the door, across the bar, and diagonal to the pool tables.

"Huh."

Damon exhaled, "I guess that's a weird thing to remember, huh?"  
Elena shook her head, "No…I remember almost everything about that night…I just didn't realize that we'd sat in the same spot."  
Damon nodded, "It was a good night."  
She couldn't disagree.  
That night had been perfect.

Hell, most of their relationship had been perfect.  
Sure, they had fought.  
Had their ups and downs, just like every couple, but they'd been crazy for each other.  
Completely and totally committed.  
She sighed, as all the memories washed over her.  
He had been her first…her everything.  
"We really loved each other, didn't we?"  
He swallowed, meeting her gaze, "Yeah…I guess we did."

She let her eyes drop, suddenly feeling a tear form.  
Thoughts of what could have been would only drive her crazy. But in this moment, it was too raw, too real. And she couldn't ignore it.

She blinked a few times, then swallowed, "So, um, did you ever, you know, meet anyone?  
Damon shook his head, "There were a few girls here and there, but no one that really mattered."  
She nodded, hating that she was happy with that news.  
"You?" he asked.  
She shook her head, "No. I've dated a little over the years…but there was never one who stuck."  
She was curious when his brows furrowed.  
"What?"  
He blinked, "Nothing really…it's just that Mom…well, after you left, I asked how you'd been. She told me that there _was _a guy in your life. And that he was pretty important."  
Elena bit her tongue.  
Val had to have been talking about Chris.  
But there was no way she could really explain that to Damon.

Or could she?  
It was the perfect opening…  
She sighed, then took a breath.  
"Well, it's not exactly like that…She was probably talking about-"

Her phone rang then, and she cursed.  
"Sorry," she told Damon, checking the I.D.  
He motioned for her to take it.  
"Caroline, hey."

"Hey!" Caroline's voice sounded, "We left a few minutes ago, and we should be back soon…just thought I'd let you know…are you home yet?"  
Elena glanced over at Damon, "Um, no…not exactly…"  
"You're still at the Grill with Damon?"  
Elena's eyes widened, "Is he in the car with you?"

Caroline knew she meant Chris.  
"Oh, no! I have my two. Stefan took Chris. He's gonna drop him off at your house."  
Elena breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay, that's fine…I'll be there shorty."  
Caroline understood, "Alright, call me as soon as you can!"

* * *

Elena hung up the phone, and Damon raised a brow.  
"Sorry," she told him, "But I should probably get going."  
Damon nodded, "Yeah, that's fine…do you need a ride?"  
"No!" she answered quickly, and Damon raised a brow.  
Sighing, she took a breath, "I mean, no thank you. I have my car…but thanks for lunch…really…I had a good time."  
Damon smiled, and nodded.

Maybe she was just being polite, but it meant the world to hear her say that.

"Well, at least let me walk you to your car."  
She nodded, and he flagged a waiter, getting their check.  
Once he settled the bill, they stood, and walked out, meeting the cooling fall air.

They reached her car, and Elena turned to face him.  
"So, um, thanks again…for lunch."

He nodded.  
"No problem. Maybe we can do dinner sometime."  
Her furrowed brows was all the answer he needed, "I'm not sure that that would be such a good idea."  
He eyed her, "And why not?"  
Biting her lip, she shifted her weight, "Because I think we said what we needed to say…at least for now."  
Damon considered this, "Did you enjoy yourself?"  
She sighed, "Yes, but-"  
"If we didn't have a past, would you go to dinner with me?"  
She paused, thinking, then finally answered, "Maybe…but it doesn't matter, Damon…we do have a past."  
He nodded, "But a lot has changed since then."  
She her mind seemed to wander, as she answered.  
"Yeah, you're right…but too much has changed."  
He raised a brow, "I'm asking you to dinner, Elena…not to elope. Can't we just go out, and see how it goes."  
She huffed, but almost seemed to be considering it, "I…I don't know. But I really need to get home…so can we talk later?"

He could accept that for now, "Yeah…of course."

He held the door as she got into her car, "Drive safe."  
She nodded, thanked him again, and then was gone.

Damon watched until her car disappeared.

* * *

Christian changed the weight on his feet, wishing that his uncle would hurry.  
They had had to stop by the Salvatore house so that Stefan could talk to his Giuseppe, but it was taking a lot longer than he'd thought.  
At least they'd had a blast that weekend!  
It had been too cold to swim, but they'd been able to ride the four-wheelers on the back trails, and they'd even built a giant fire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows on.  
It had passed quickly.  
April was texting him now, reminding him about the essay they had due in a few days, and was wondering if his mom would be cool with her coming over to get his help.  
He shot back a reply, telling her that he'd ask.  
Of course, that was assuming that Stefan hurried up and got him home.

A moment later, he heard the front door open, and wondered if his Grandmother had come in.  
He stood up from his seat on the couch, just as the guest walked in.  
And he froze at the sight of the man in front of him.

Damon Salvatore.  
His father.

* * *

**Don't kill me too bad for the cliffhanger! lol.**

**I'll update soon, promise! Can't wait to see what you guys think about this chapter!**

**Please, please, review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Loving the response for this story!**

**Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! I hope ya'll enjoy this ;)!**

* * *

Damon was turning over thoughts of Elena his entire drive home.

He understood why she would be hesitant to go on a date with him.  
Hell, he'd practically crushed her when they were last together.  
But that was a long time ago…and maybe this time, they could work something out…  
Or not.  
It really wasn't like much has changed…and if anything, he'd gotten worse over the years…less deserving of her.  
By the time he had parked his car, and walked through the door, he was ready to participate in his favorite past time, Day Drinking.

He walked into the living room, where he knew his father kept the best alcohol, and was surprised to find it already occupied by some teenager.  
The boy stood, and Damon had to blink a few times.  
The kid looked an awful lot like…

"What are _you _doing here?" the boy asked.  
Damon was getting really sick of explaining himself, "I'm sort of living here…I'm Damon Salva-"

"I know who you are," the kid shot, and Damon's brows furrowed.

"Is that right?"

The kid was staring…no, _glaring _at him.

"Uh, yeah. You're kind of famous," he stated sarcastically.  
Damon raised a brow, confronted.  
Who the hell was this kid? And why did he look so much like him?  
Seriously…it was practically a fucking mirror image.  
"Well, assuming that you aren't a famous singer," he shot at the boy, "Want to tell me your name?"  
He seemed to deliberate, before saying, "It's Christian…Christian Salvatore."  
Damon had figured they were related somehow.  
But…

Stefan came down the stairs at that point, "Hey Chris, you ready to go? Your mom's gonna kill us if we- Damon?"  
Damon smiled at the sight of him, momentarily distracted.  
"Hello, brother."

"Caroline mentioned you were back," Stefan greeted, moving to hug him.

Damon embraced his baby bro, "Yeah, it never was like her to keep a secret."  
But in truth, he'd almost forgotten that his brother had married the blond.  
And they had kids too, didn't they?  
The boy, Chris, must be the eldest…

"How've things been?" Damon asked, not realizing how much he'd actually missed his brother over the years.  
"Not bad. Just got back from the lake house with Caroline and the kids…"

He turned then, shooting a glance at Chris.

"Wait…have the two of you met?"  
Damon smirked as Chris's eyes narrowed, "Briefly. Christian was explaining to me how famous I am."  
Stefan raised a brow, and looked back at the boy.  
"Chris?"  
"We should get back, before Mom gets pissed," Christian answered, his eyes not leaving Damon.  
"Uh, yeah…I guess you're right," Stefan seemed confused, and Damon didn't miss the way his eyes shot between him and the teen.  
"Stop by the house sometime?" Stefan offered, and Damon nodded, "Yeah…I'll see you around."

With a nod, Stefan put an arm around Christian's shoulder, and they walked out the front door.

Damon shook his head, moving to get a drink.  
There was something about that boy that threw him off.  
It was almost like there was anger in the looks he'd been throwing at him.  
And it was weird that the kid didn't look a thing like Caroline.

But then again, he'd been gone a long time.

Maybe he just couldn't see the resemblance…  
After all, Damon looked nothing like his father.  
He'd matched his mother, almost identically, and apparently, so had Stefan's son.  
He'd had Valentina's dark hair, and blue eyes…not to mention a similar bone structure.

Either way, it shouldn't matter.  
While Stefan was an important part of his life, Damon was more concerned with the thought of his former lover.  
Elena…  
She couldn't refuse him forever, so maybe he'd try again soon.

Tomorrow, actually.  
He'd try again tomorrow.

* * *

Elena was sitting at the desk in her bedroom, laptop open, working on her article, when she heard a car door slam outside, followed by Stefan's voice.  
"Chris, come on man, you have to let her explain!"  
"She didn't fucking tell me!" the kid yelled back, and Elena jumped up, and entered the living room just as her son plowed through the front door.

"What's going on?" she demanded, as Stefan came in behind him.

But Chris answered first, "Did you know that my dad was back in town?!"

Elena's eyes widened, "You saw Damon?"  
"So you knew!" Christian accused.  
Elena nodded, "I ran into him yesterday, we met up to talk today."  
Christian shook his head, "And you didn't think that I had the right to know?!"

Elena held her head up, "You were at the lake house. I was going to wait until you got back before saying anything."  
"But you went ahead and met up with him anyway?"  
She narrowed her eyes, "Yes, I did. And I wasn't aware I needed my son's permission to do so."  
He huffed, "You should have told me."  
She dismissed this, "Where did you see him?"

Stefan jumped in then, "That was on me, actually. I had to stop and talk to dad…I didn't know that Damon was going to be there."  
Christian turned to his uncle, "Would you have stopped if you'd known he was?"  
Stefan answered honestly, "No, probably not."  
"So you were _all_ planning on lying to me?!"  
Elena stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Baby, no one wanted to lie to you."  
"The hell you didn't!" he exclaimed.  
Elena narrowed her gaze, "Watch your mouth, Chris."  
He sighed, stepping away from her, "Then explain to me how this wasn't a plan to lie to me."  
Elena nodded, "It had nothing to do with you, Chris. I mean, it does…just not in this scenario. Damon doesn't know you were born…and this isn't how I wanted him to find out. I was going to talk to you…see if you even wanted him to know…"

Chris crossed his arms, "And if I didn't?"  
"Then no one would say a thing," she promised, and he seemed to relax a little, "It was your choice."

He deliberated, "How long is he staying?"  
"A month, at least," Elena answered, and Christian pondered it, before shaking his head, "Can I go to my room?"  
Elena nodded, figuring he would need some time alone to process this, "Yeah, of course."

Chris walked by her, and a second later, his bedroom door slammed shut.  
Elena sighed.

"You okay?" Stefan asked after a minute.  
Elena looked up at him, "Yeah…I guess so…Does he know? Damon, I mean? Does he know who Chris is?"  
Stefan shook his head, "No, I don't think so…they weren't alone very long."  
Elena groaned, "That doesn't matter much. A blind man could see the resemblance between them."  
Stefan nodded, "Yeah…but we have a lot of family. And Chris does favor my mother a lot…Damon has no way of actually knowing."  
"Yeah," she agreed reluctantly.  
"But he should," Stefan pressed, and she met his gaze, "And I'm saying this as a _father_. Damon has the right to know about his son, Elena."

"I know. But that decision isn't up to me," she glanced toward Chris's room, "I'm not going to put that on either one of them, unless Chris wants it."  
Stefan sighed, "Well, personally, I think it might do them both a lot of good."  
Elena nodded, "Yeah…maybe."

* * *

Christian threw himself down on his bed.  
He knew it probably wasn't fair to let loose on his mother like that, but at the moment, he didn't have it in him to feel bad.  
He was too pissed.  
But it wasn't really that he was mad at her, or Stefan, for that matter.

He was mad at _him_.

Damon Salvatore.

You can't just bail out before your kid is born, stay gone for his entire life, and then come walking back into town like none of it mattered.  
Though, the reasonable part of him argued that it wasn't really Damon's fault.  
It's not like he knew he had a son…but still.  
At the very least, the man had abandoned Elena.

Chris would hate him just for that.  
His mother was literally the best person he'd ever known.  
She had sacrificed so much for him over the years, had raised him all by herself, and still continued to work herself hard, just so he could have the things he did.

That might not have happened if Damon had stuck around.  
But he hadn't, and his mom had gone through hell because of it.  
And now the bastard had asked her to meet up, to talk?  
_Please_.  
Chris knew exactly what the "talking" was all about.  
Hell, all of his friends constantly told him how hot his mom was.  
He could admit that she was a looker.

And he'd be damned if any man would use her, the way Damon had back then.  
He'd accepted his role as man of the house, and that meant that he had to protect his mom from all those disgusting horn-dogs, who only wanted in her pants. She deserved better than that.

But now his father was back in town.  
And it was up to him to decide if Damon got to know about his existence.  
Not like _that's_ any pressure.

He didn't really know what to think about the situation.  
On one hand, he'd never known his dad…and that could change.  
But then, he wanted to hate the man…and they had been doing just fine without him for the past fifteen years.  
No need to include him now.  
Didn't his mom also say that Damon would be leaving soon? A month.  
What point was there in bringing this all out, if the man was just going to leave?  
There _was_ no point.  
He sighed, making up his mind.  
Damon Salvatore hadn't been a part of his life in all these years, no reason to change that now.

With this in mind, he picked up his phone.  
He sent out a group text to his friends, needing a distraction.

_Feel like stirring some shit up, you guys in?_

_-Chris_

Kol, Jeremy, and Tyler all replied.

_Hell yeah! What are we doing?_

_-Ty_

_As long as you don't get our asses arrested this time._

_-Jer_

_When and Where?_

_-Kol_

He smirked, knowing that his boys were always up for some fun.  
And that's what he needed right now, consequences be damned.

_Meet up in front of the Grill at midnight, will decide from there._

_-Chris._

Then he shot a text to April.

_Hey babe, me, you, and the boys are going out tonight. Midnight. Sneak out the window and meet me at the road._

_Love you – Chris_

The replies were once again, instant.

Everyone was in.  
Now all he had to do was wait until his mother fell asleep.

* * *

The time passed by quick enough, and soon Christian was quietly sliding on his jeans and combat boots.  
He put his phone in his pocket, and carefully opened his bedroom door.  
His mother didn't wake up easily, but he didn't want to take the chance.  
He made it down the hall, and out the front door in record time.  
He wished he had a car on nights like this, but luckily, everything in the town was within walking distance.  
April's house was only three blocks from his own.  
He lucked out, and she was already waiting on him by the time he got to her drive.

"Hey, babe," he greeted quietly, wrapping his arms around her.  
She smiled, leaning up to kiss him, "Hey back…so what are we doing tonight?"  
"Not sure yet," he told her, letting her go so they could start walking, "But we are meeting the guys at the Grill."  
She nodded, "Is it okay if Amber and Briana come?"

"Yeah," he agreed, "I don't see why not...actually, they may come in handy."  
She smiled, "Okay, I'll text them."  
Once she was done, she looked at him, "Won't the Grill be closed?"  
Chris shook his head, "No, just the kitchen…the bar is still open, and they serve coffee and stuff. We're just meeting up there anyway, but I have an idea..."  
She nodded, "Okay, then."

He glanced over her, enjoying the short skirt and tank top, that showed more than a hint of cleavage.  
"You look hot."  
She winked at him, "It just comes natural."  
He laughed, "I love how modest you are."  
She leaned up, kissing his neck, "You love more than just my modesty."  
"You're right," he chuckled, pulling her to a stop, "I love everything about you...but I have to admit," he leaned down, kissing the top of her right breast, "There are certain parts that I love a little more," he then kissed the left.  
Her brow raised, "You better mean my charm and my intuition."  
He grinned, "Of course that's what I meant."  
She shook her head, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Good answer."  
He kissed her then, and her hands slid down to his waist, playing with the rim of his pants, "So...how many minutes do we have before we have to meet everyone?"  
Chris smirked, recognizing the look in her eyes, "Fuck them, they can wait."  
She grinned, took his hand, and pulled him into the trees next to the road.

* * *

When they finally made it to the Grill's parking lot, the others were waiting.  
"Took you guys long enough," Tyler shot, "What happened? You get lost?"  
April smirked, pulling a leaf from her hair, and Chris shrugged, "We got busy."  
Tyler chuckled, shaking his head.  
"So, what's the plan, Chris?" Kol asked, getting focused.  
Christian smiled, "The plan is to get our hands on some alcohol…namely the reason that these ladies are here."  
He motioned to Briana and Amber, "Can you guys distract the bartender long enough for us to sneak the bottle?"  
"Definitely," Amber replied with a grin.  
"Good…Ty, you're the fastest…you want to do the swiping with me?"  
Tyler shrugged, "Yeah, sure."

"Alright then, Kol, Jeremy, you guys stick with the girls…"  
Once everyone was clear on what to do, they walked inside.

* * *

Damon filled his cup again, the man behind the counter had left the bottle behind an hour ago. And he still didn't feel drunk enough.

Not wanting to sit at home after his parents had went to bed, he'd driven up to the Grill, where at least the bar was open.  
He needed to figure out what he was going to do.  
About his job, Elena, his life...  
It all suddenly seemed very complicated.

He twirled his glass, as the front doors swung open, and a group of kids came in.  
_Great._  
Just what this night needed. A bunch of teenagers.  
What were they even doing out this late? Wasn't it a school night?  
He threw them another glance, and was surprised to see the Christian kid among them, his arm wrapped around the waist of some pretty little girl.  
He had to do a double take.  
God, that boy still looked a lot like him, even donning a similar leather jacket.  
Only his dark hair was slightly longer, his bangs almost in eyes.  
Damon watched as the kid kissed the girl on the head, then motioned to a friend.  
The two walked off a bit, standing near the bathrooms.  
But the rest of the group moved to the bar.  
He tried to make out what they were saying, as the bartender went down to offer them drinks, but the majority of his focus was on Stefan's son, and the other boy, who were slowly inching closer to the bar, at the opposite end of their friends.  
Amused, he watched as Christian slipped an arm over, and grabbed two bottles, before passing them on to the other kid, and reaching to grab another.

He had to give the kids props. They had four bottles stolen and stashed before the waiter behind the bar had even returned with the drinks for their friends.

Idly, he wondered if he should say something…but decided against it.

No need to get the kids in even more trouble.  
Hell, everyone was young once.

But as the group got their drinks and made their way out the door, he figured he should probably turn in soon as well.

* * *

Christian couldn't believe it.  
Here he had been hoping to escape the looming threat of Damon entering his life, and the man had been at the fucking bar!  
Was nowhere safe anymore? God.  
He had only caught a glimpse of the man as he and Tyler had hurried out the door, but something told him that Damon had seen him too.

But if he had, he hadn't said anything.

"So where should we go now?" Jeremy asked.  
"We can go to my place," Tyler offered as he passed the bottles around, "We have those old cellars on the property."  
"Wait!" Briana called, turning back toward the Grill, "Did you guys see who that was?!"  
"Who what was?" Kol asked.  
"The guy at the bar," Amber backed her up, "Wasn't that Damon Salvatore? You know, the singer?"  
Chris wanted to palm his face. Of course the girls his age would recognize Damon.  
"Was it?" Jeremy asked, looking to Chris.  
All the guys knew the story.  
"Yeah, he's in town," Christian told them, as if it were no big deal.  
"Oh my god!" Amber practically squealed, "Can we go back in?"  
"No," April told her, "Are you stupid? You don't steal from a place, then go back inside!"  
"Exactly," Chris backed, "We need to get out of here."  
"But, that's _Damon Salvatore_! Come on!" Briana pressed, as if annunciating each syllable of the man's name would make it more important.

"He's so damn hot, can you imagine what he looks like shirtless?" Amber sighed, and Briana nodded, "I bet he's amazing in bed!"

Both girls giggled.

Christian grew annoyed.  
This was so not how he planned to spend his night.

"Are you guys coming or not?" he asked the drooling girls.  
They looked at him, and Briana spoke, "Can we at least go get a picture with him?"  
Chris felt his temper flex, "Look, if you want a picture of that asshole, you can have my Grandmother's photo albums! I don't plan on sticking around and getting arrested though, so we need to leave!"  
"Oh, shit, you're related to him, huh?!" Amber exclaimed, "Salvatore…I didn't even realize! Dude, you kinda look like him too…a _lot_ like him actually…"  
Chris rolled his eyes, "Yeah, we are not about to fucking go there."  
He turned away from the two gawking girls, just in time to see the Grill's doors open, and Damon step out.

His blood boiled when Damon's eyes landed on him.  
He clenched his fist, almost forgetting about the bottle he was holding.  
Then a thought hit him.  
He glanced over, and sure enough, a shiny blue Camaro was parked in the lot.  
The same car that had been parked at his Grandparents.

"Run!" he told the others, and, before he lost his nerve, he chunked the bottle straight at the car.  
Smirking when he heard the glass shatter on impact.  
Seeing what he did, the others took off, but he waited, just a second longer, to catch the look on his _father_'s face.

It took the man a second to respond.

Then, as realization dawned on him, utter shock filled his features…then rage.  
Pressing his luck, Chris flipped him off, before taking off after his friends in a dead sprint.  
The night was finally looking up.

* * *

**Okay, so I know the encounter between the two in the beginning wasn't what most of you expected, but I promise that it will happen soon!  
Leave a review and let me know what you thought about the chapter, please!**

**Does Chris have a right to hate Damon?  
Opinions on the Chris/April relationship  
How will Elena react to all this?**

**Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow, the reviews ya'll are leaving are so inspiring! I love hearing your opinions!**

**Okay, so I'm going to address some issues/concerns that were brought up.**

**In my personal opinion, No one is at fault, but at the same time, everyone is.  
The situation is complex.  
Elena probably should have told Damon early on, but she didn't, and too much time passed.  
But Damon never should have left in the first place...  
Giuseppe is kind of staying out of the whole thing, for reasons later explained, but Val could have told Damon too.  
However, she respected Elena's wishes, and decided that it was between them.**

**I think Chris should be mad at Damon, but not that it's justified.  
He has no real reason to be angry, but he's an emotional teenager who never had a father figure.  
He has some abandonment issues, and lets face it, a boy needs a dad.  
He doesn't realize that he's angry at the situation. At the tragedy of not having a father in his life, whatever the reason.  
He NEEDS someone to blame. Damon has been gone, so he is the easier target.**

**As for the Chris/April relationship.  
I do NOT condone underage sex. Do not misunderstand me please!  
But I am trying to keep this real.  
And in reality, a hormonal, slightly rebellious teenage boy is going to be thinking about sex.  
April is the preacher's daughter, which is increasing her rebellious stage too, but their relationship will evolve as well.  
But facing the facts, two teens that are left alone enough are going to find ways to have sex.  
Add this to the fact that Christian hasn't had a real constant positive male role model, and he's just kind of doing what he wants.  
Elena can only do so much on her own.  
Over all, he's a good kid. He just has some issues.**

**Okay, I hope this covered everything lol.  
If not, feel free to review, or PM me with questions! :)**

**Noooow, on to the chapter! lol.**

* * *

Damon was still pissed.  
It had taken him all morning to clean out the back of his car.  
The bottle that the kid had thrown at his Camaro had busted right through the back seat passenger side window.  
He had called the local auto shop, but they had to place an order in and told him that it would be at least four days before they could fix it.  
Cursing, he'd had no choice but to wrap a plastic bag round it and hold it closed with tape.  
He could kill that boy.  
Seriously…what in the _hell_ had he done for that kid to be so pissed at him. At first, he'd just assumed he was being paranoid…but now…something was seriously up.  
He should probably call Stefan, but decided to wait a while longer…he had other, more pressing matters.  
Matters like, Elena Gilbert.

He was still set on going to see her. Today.  
He'd gotten her address from Valentina, who had also told him that Elena got off work around four.  
So maybe if he showed up and played his cards right, he could talk her into that dinner.

He glanced over his car one more time, making sure that he hadn't missed any glass in his ever so thorough clean up.  
He didn't find anything, thankfully, and acknowledged that the situation could have been worse.

At least in this case, he got a free bottle of tequila, seeing at the bottle was the only thing that remained intact throughout the impact.  
Sighing he straightened, and dusted himself off.

He really needed a shower…and to stop by the flower shop.  
Because damn it, he was taking Elena to dinner.

An hour later, Damon was in his car, trying to ignore the hum of the wind through his broken back window.

Being annoyed wouldn't help anything right now.

At least, not until he could talk to Stefan.

So instead, he focused on the long-stemmed red rose sitting in the seat next to him.  
He was going to go for a whole bouquet, but then he remembered something about Elena.

She had always been a simple person.  
She'd been the kind of girl who would take movies and cuddling over a fancy dinner and a night on the town.  
So he'd picked out the most beautiful single rose they had.  
He was sure she would love it.

* * *

It didn't take long to find her house…as it was just a few blocks from the town's square, and he had to smile at the sight.  
The place was cute, but small.  
Simple, just like her.

He noticed her car in the drive, and smirked.  
So she was home.  
He parked the car, and reached over for the rose.  
Elena may be hesitant about going out with him again, but he planned on showing her that they could have a good time.  
And let the past be the past.

He walked up the stairs, onto the small porch.  
He noted the hanging bird feeders and plants that adorned it, as he reached his arm up, to knock on the door.  
He waited a moment, then heard footsteps, heading in his direction.  
However, they sounded a bit too heavy to belong to Elena.  
His stomach flipped as the words his mother told him, about Elena having a guy in her life, came rushing to the front of his mind.  
But surely Elena would have mentioned him yesterday…

Before he had the chance to speculate much further, the door opened.  
The last thing he had expected to find at the opposite end was Christian.

* * *

But there the kid was, his eyes growing a little when he realized who he'd opened the door to.  
Damon blinked.  
What the hell was going on?  
"I take it you're here to launch a complaint about your car, huh?" the boy asked, leaning against the frame.  
Damon's brows furrowed, "What are you doing here?"  
A cold smirk crossed Christian's lips as he mocked him, "Uh, I sort of live here."

Chris's eyes fell down to the flower in Damon's hand.  
He scoffed, "But then again, you weren't really here to see me, were you? Sorry, she's not interested."  
Christian started to close the door, but Damon stuck his foot out, stopping it.  
"Wait a damn minute!" he commanded, just as a lighter voice carried through the hall.

"Chris, baby, who was at the-"Elena came up behind the boy, and froze, "Damon? What are you doing here?"  
"I…," he tried to come up with something to say.  
But in that moment, his own name would have escaped him.  
He stared at the two people in front of him.

And something clicked.  
Things were beginning to fall scarily into place.

There was a reason Elena didn't want him around…and it had nothing to do with trust.  
There was a reason this teenager looked so much like him, and hated him so much.

And it sure as hell wasn't because he was his nephew.  
Sixteen years ago…he'd broken Elena's heart. But before that, they had enjoyed an entire night of him being home, a week before he left town for good.

No, Christian wasn't Stefan's son.  
He was Elena's.  
He was _his_.

* * *

Elena watched as realization dawned on Damon's startled face.  
Her stomach was flying into a ball of panic.  
This was not how he was supposed to find out, not at all.  
God, she wished he would say something.  
But his eyes were staring at Christian now, with a gaze so focused, her son tensed.  
She cleared her throat, "Chris…why don't you, um, go do your homework."  
Both boy's eyes shot to her, "Mom…"  
"Now, please."  
Christian hesitated, but eventually nodded, shooting a look at Damon before turning around and walking back toward the kitchen.

The second he was out of sight, she turned back to Damon.

"Explain," he told her.  
Elena swallowed, before nodding, "It's exactly what you think."  
She stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind her.  
Whatever Damon had to say, she wasn't sure it was something that Christian needed to hear.  
"I got you pregnant?" he asked, as if needed clarification.  
Her look must have been confirmation enough.  
"Why in the _hell _didn't you tell me?!" he demanded.  
Elena met his heated gaze, refusing to let him diminish her choices, "I didn't find out until after you had left, and in case you've forgotten, you had basically just asked me to leave you alone."

His eyes blazed, "This would have been entirely different and you know it!"  
"Do I?" she asked, "Because you _left_, Damon. And as far as I knew, you had no intention of ever coming back to Mystic Falls. So no, I wasn't about to call you, begging you to come back after you'd just _freed _yourself, because I happened to get knocked up!"

"Then why didn't you tell me yesterday? We were together for over an hour!" he reminded her.  
She looked down, "Chris was gone this weekend…and I thought he should have had a say in the matter."  
Damon grit his teeth, "_I_ should have had a fucking say in the matter! How could you keep this from me, Elena?"  
Elena closed her eyes, "I did what I thought I had to."  
When he stepped closer, she risked glancing up at him.  
"And keeping me out of the picture was what you _had_ to do?"  
"For Christian, yes!" she exclaimed, "To keep him from getting hurt if you decided that having a child wasn't fitting to your life _plan_!"

Now Damon was shaking his head, "You knew me better than that, Elena."

"I thought I did," she reasoned, "Until you turned your back on everything that we'd been working for, just because-"  
"Because I thought I was doing what was best by you!" He interrupted, "Damn it, Elena! I didn't think I was going anywhere at the time! You had this big, promising future ahead of you, and I didn't want to be the one to hold you back, so yes, I let you go. Because I made the mistake of listening to your father, letting him tell me that I was never going to be enough for you! And he was right."  
Elena's gaze darkened, "My father? He got to you? And you couldn't have just came clean with that fifteen years ago?!"

"You really want to compare fifteen year old secrets?!" he scoffed, "My life, my _career_, revolves around rumors and secrets! So how about we get back to the walking, talking, breathing one inside your house!"  
She felt unwanted tears forming in her eyes, "What do you want me to say, Damon? That I'm sorry I didn't tell you? That I'm sorry I let you live your life? That I'm sorry you were able to leave, and make a name for yourself, while I raised our son? Well, I can't! Because I'm not sorry! I stand by the choices I've made, and I have a pretty good life because of them. So I'm sorry if this bombshell's going to be too much for the rumor mill in the music industry to handle, but if you're that worried about it, you can leave and pretend like this never happened. Because God _forbid_, I inconvenience you!"

"This isn't about the fucking music industry, Elena! This is about me finding out I've had a son for half my life!"  
Elena chose not to comment, letting him breathe.  
"It's no wonder the boy hates me," Damon muttered after a second.  
Elena met his gaze, "Hates you?"  
Damon's brow lifted, "I assume you're unaware of his late night activities then?"

"What are you talking about?" she demanded, and Damon motioned toward his car.

"Apparently, our _son_ thought I should take a hint," he told her, his voice bitter, "I watched him take out the back window of my Camaro in the Grill's parking lot last night."

Elena stared at Damon's car, the plastic bag wrapped around the top of the back door stood out pretty strikingly.

She wasn't sure what to say.  
Christian was angry with Damon, she'd always known that.  
Hell, she'd cursed his name a few times over the years herself, but this was going too far.  
"I…I'm sorry," she swallowed, "He shouldn't have done that."  
Damon sighed, "Well I guess now I know why he did."

Elena shook her head. No…Chris had to know that this wasn't right.  
Being angry at Damon was one thing.  
Committing a felony was something entirely different.

* * *

Damon's mind was still whirling, but even in his confused state, he'd recognize that look on Elena's face.  
She was getting angry.  
"I'll talk to him."  
Damon nodded not sure what else to say, but then Elena sighed, "Well, it's not going to be fun either way…but do you maybe want to come in?"

Inside?  
To where his son was…the son that obviously hated him.  
God, he had a _son_.

"Yeah…sure."

Elena turned, opening the door.  
She let Damon step inside before closing it behind them.  
He glanced around briefly. The place was small and clean. He noticed a small vanity, and placed the rose, that was still in his hand, on top of it.

"What is he still doing here?" Christian asked, appearing in the opening to the kitchen.  
Damon once again, found himself staring.

The boy looked so much like himself that he felt like an idiot for not putting it together sooner.  
Not to mention that Elena was there too, in the curve of the kid's face, and his full lips, which were now turned in a grimace.

"Did you leave the house last night?" Elena asked, ignoring Chris's question.  
The boy rolled his eyes, "I figured that would be the first thing he'd use against you."  
Elena stood her ground, "This isn't about him, Chris. This is about you, and what you did. The sheriff's already given you a warning. That was a stupid stunt to pull!"  
"So what," Chris shot back, "It's no less than what he deserves."

Damon wanted to defend himself, but he had a feeling that him interrupting wasn't going to much help the conversation.  
"That doesn't matter," Elena told the teen, her voice more even than what Damon had been expecting, "You left the house, Chris. You snuck out. That's not okay! Not to mention that you committed a felony!"

Chris huffed, "They won't even noticed that we took the bottles. It's not that big a deal!"

Elena's brow raised, "Bottles? We? What exactly did you do last night, Chris?"

Christian seemed surprised, looking at Damon, "You didn't tell her?"  
"It wasn't my place," Damon shot back.

His son's eyes narrowed, "Yeah, well this isn't your place either. There's no reason that you should still be here."  
Now Damon's brow was the one raising, "Well, there is the fact of you being my son."  
Chris's eyes flamed, "I may be your son, but you are _not_ my father."

"Christian!" Elena scolded, but Damon put his hand up.

"No, it's fine," he stepped closer to the boy, "If you have something against me, go ahead and get it out."

Chris met Damon's gaze, "I have nothing to say to you."

"Then I'll do the talking," Damon reasoned, "You hate me, I get that. But given that until five minutes ago, I literally had no idea that you were my son, I'm not sure how you can hold me at fault. If I had known-"

Chris shook his head, "Don't. Don't even go there."  
"Christian," Elena pleaded, "You can at least hear him out."  
Chris turned on her, "There is nothing that he's about to say that I want to hear. And I'm surprised that you even want to listen to it! He left us. Or did you forget that?"

Damon hated the way Elena's gaze dropped, hurt.  
"Don't talk to her like that," he interceded, "She doesn't deserve it."

"No," Chris shot, "What she didn't deserve was the guy she loved knocking her up then skipping town. She didn't deserve to have to give up her life, just so you could have yours!"

"Chris!" Elena's eyes flashed, "That's enough."  
"You're right," he hissed, "'Cause I'm done."

He walked by her then, toward the door.  
"We aren't finished here, Chris," Elena insisted.  
Christian's eyes flashed between her and Damon, "I'll be at April's. You can call me when _he's _gone."  
"Chris, please..."

When the boy started to open the door, Damon moved, grabbing his arm.

"She's talking to you," he stated coldly.

"Let me go," Chris spit.

Damon shook his head, "You do not walk away from your mother."  
Anger colored Chris's face.

"What can I say, I learned from the best," he shot, pulling his arm out of Damon's grasp, "Like father, like son, right, _Dad_?"

Damon wasn't sure how to respond to that, and when Chris shook his head, before turning and walking out the door, he didn't bother to stop him.

* * *

**So Damon finally knows!  
**

**Did you guys expect it to happen this way? Is it okay that it did?  
This chapter was harder to write, because it is such a monumental part of the story!  
Please review and leave your opinions :)**

**And keep in mind that Chris is going to have some development to go through, before getting use to the idea of his father knowing about him.  
He's going to seem immature at times, but all in all, he's handling it in the only way he knows how.**

**What do you think Damon will do?  
Will he run?  
Or own up to his consequences, and try to be a part of Christian's life?  
Is it worth it, if he will just have to leave again?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank ya'll for the amazing reviews and support!  
**

**I enjoyed reading them all!  
**

**Okay, so here's the next chapter, picking up right after Chris storms out!**

* * *

It was silent for a good minute after the door closed.

Finally he heard Elena sigh, "I'm so sorry, Damon."  
He turned, looking at her, "It's not your fault."  
She shook her head, "No, but he shouldn't have talked to you that way. I don't know what's gotten into him lately…he's not usually like this."

Damon placed his finger under her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

"He's just angry, Elena, but he'll come around."  
She met his gaze, her eyes melting him, "I hope you're right."  
He sighed, dropping his hand, and taking a look around.  
"This is…cozy," he offered, and Elena chuckled dryly.

"You mean small."  
He smirked a little, "Yeah…I mean small."  
She nodded, moving to sit on the couch, motioning to the empty space across from her.  
Damon walked the few steps to it, and sat down.  
After a moment, Elena broke the silence.  
"I'm sorry that you found out this way…"  
He fixed his gaze on her, "I'm not. I'm glad that the truth is out there."  
She nodded, and he sighed, "So who all knows?"  
She blushed, and he raised a brow, "Pretty much everyone then?"

Elena nodded.

"Yeah…a few weeks after you left, I started getting sick, then I was late that next month, and well, two plus two…I told Caroline, and she bought a test for me…I didn't know what to do," she admitted, "I was nervous, and terrified, and had no idea what was about to happen. So I kept it a secret for a few months, only Caroline and Bonnie knew."  
Damon stared at the ground, guilt swarming him, "So what then?"  
She exhaled, "Well, I started to show. I mean, I know you can't hide a pregnancy forever, but I was hoping that I could last a bit longer…anyway, I finally told my parents."  
Damon winced, "I take it that was an unpleasant evening."  
Elena nodded, "Mom cried, a lot…but Dad…he was furious. I guess now I understand why, I still can't believe him."  
He swallowed, "I'm sorry you had to go through that alone."  
When he glanced up at her, she was shaking her head, "It really wasn't that bad. I think Dad was the worst part, actually. I guess he wasn't too happy that he'd gotten you away from me, just for this to happen. Hell, he didn't even want me to keep Chris. He tried to insist on taking me to the clinic…_taking care of it_, is what he said."

Damon felt his temper rise a bit.  
Grayson tried to make Elena have an abortion?! Kill her baby, _their _baby?

Obviously, it didn't work out that way, but the idea still upset him.

"So that didn't happen," Damon stated.  
"No, it didn't," Elena sighed, "I told him that I was the one who had sex, and I would deal with the consequences…and besides, I already loved Christian. There was no way I could give him up. Mom supported me, and eventually Dad came around too."  
She held his gaze, "I told your parents after that. They took the news much better," she chuckled a little, "And they were willing to help with anything I needed. They were really there for me, for Chris…and I could never thank them enough…"  
Damon had moved closer to her without realizing it, "Why didn't Mom say anything then? In the times I've seen her over the-"  
"I asked her not to," Elena cut.  
Damon's brow furrowed, and she hurriedly explained, "I guess part of me still hoped that you'd come back…and I wanted to be the one to tell you. But then you never did. And after a few years…it just felt like it was too late."  
"I just wish I'd known," he stated, "There's so much that I could have changed…and then-"  
"And then what?" Elena challenged, "Look, it doesn't matter, Damon. What's done is done. Maybe things could have worked out differently, but they didn't. They ended up like this. I have a good job, and a son I love more than life…and you have the career you've always wanted. So can we please not take the road of what if's?"  
Damon measured her, then nodded, "Okay, how about the road of 'what's next', instead?"

"Well, to be honest," she answered, "I think that's up to Chris…and you."

He could almost feel a wave of nervousness radiate from her, and his guilt rose again.  
She truly believed that there was a chance he'd just wash his hands of them. Brush them under the rug, and pretend like this never happened.  
Sort of like she tried to do with him.  
Except now it was different.  
They were grown adults, and he had a choice.  
He reached over taking her hand, forcing her eyes to lift to his.  
"Elena, I'm not sure what's going to happen in the future…but I can promise you that when it comes to Christian, you will not be alone anymore. He's my son, Elena…and I've already missed fifteen years of his life. I don't plan on missing the rest."

There were tears in her eyes now, and he could only imagine all the times she'd dreamed of him saying this.  
"Thank you," she said sincerely, "But what happens when you leave again? When you go back to California, back to all the craziness…"

"We have a while before that happens," he pressed, "Maybe we should just focus on right now."  
Elena shook her head, "I can't do that, Damon…not anymore. If this was just about us, maybe it would be different…but I can't do that to Chris. I can't let him get close to you, only to have him watch you leave."

The image she was painting pained him.  
He didn't want to do that either. Besides, he knew what would happen…that if he spent all that time with her, and with his son…he might not even want to go back.

Because for the first time in what felt like forever, he had a purpose, a drive…a reason to even be alive.  
"So what if it didn't have to be that way?" he offered, the words sounding heavy.  
Elena stared at him, "What do you mean?"  
"I mean, what if I didn't have to leave?" he pressed.  
Elena blinked, "But you do…you told me yesterday that your boss only gave you a month…"  
Damon nodded, "I know…but the circumstances have obviously changed. I meant what I said. I want to be here for Chris, for you. Even if that means dropping the label company and moving back home."

Elena's eyes had widened, "I…I can't let you do that, Damon! You can't just throw away your career, sacrifice your dream…that's exactly why I didn't tell you in the first place!"  
He didn't falter, "It's not a sacrifice, Elena."  
"But-"  
"No, listen to me," he insisted, his mind clear, "I have done a lot of things that I regret over the years. But this…this tops them all. I left you alone, to raise our son, and that's inexcusable. It is _not _a sacrifice to be a part of his life, Elena, it's a privilege. One that I would gladly accept…if you'll let me."

With the tears on her cheek, Elena nodded.  
"I want that. I want you to get to know him, and for him to have a relationship with you. I really do, Damon, I swear…but-"  
"But what?"  
She sat up a little, "But that's a really big chance you are asking me to take. How am I supposed to trust you? Trust that you aren't going to change your mind, or decide that this isn't what you wanted after all…because it'll be me that has to deal with that mess."

Damon could understand her point, he really could, and he knew that he was mostly to blame for her hesitation.

He swallowed, "I really hurt you, didn't I? Back then…when I left?"  
Not meeting his gaze, Elena nodded, "For a while I didn't think I was going to survive it all…you were everything to me…and then I had Chris, and he looks so much like you, it just-"  
She stopped herself, choking up a little.

He waited until she looked up at him, before answering, "I didn't want things to turn out the way they did. You were the best part of my life, Elena. Never doubt that."  
She nodded, "But that still didn't stop you from leaving."  
He wanted to hold her so badly, let her know that things had changed, but he had a feeling more words weren't what she needed.  
"You're right," he admitted, "I was an idiot. I let my insecurities get the best of me, and I wussed out," he squeezed the hand he was holding, "And I'd give anything to change that, but I can't."  
Elena was looking into his eyes now, and he tried not to get lost in her brown depth.

"I just want the chance to get to know my son," he told her, "Let me show you that you can trust me."

She sighed, "Okay, but even if I take this chance, how do you plan on getting Christian to feel the same?"  
Damon bit his lip. Always the hard questions…

"I honestly don't know yet," he answered finally, "But I at least have to try. He hates me right now, because he's angry. Maybe if I can get through to him, then that can change."

Elena appraised him, "And that's what you want?"

He had to erase that crushing doubt in her voice before it killed him.

"Absolutely."

* * *

Chris stretched out, not wanting to open his eyes, in fear that this feeling would fade.  
April was lying next to him, her fingers tracing different shapes on his arm.  
"It's getting dark," she reasoned.  
Chris sighed, peeking up at the sky, to find that the sun had indeed began to set.

It made sense though, as they'd been chilling by the banks of the falls for a few hours now.  
He hadn't wanted to go home, and the grass was soft enough to throw a blanket down on and sprawl out.  
Made for a great lazy afternoon.  
"Afraid of breaking curfew?" he asked with a smirk, knowing how uptight her father, Pastor Young, could be.  
"Don't be a dick," she shot.  
"Ooooh, that's a bad word," he teased, "I thought you were supposed to be the good girl."  
He half expected it when she hit his arm.  
"Just because my dad's the preacher, doesn't mean that I'm a perfect angel."  
Chris scoffed, "Apparently your dad thinks differently. Is he still convinced that I'm corrupting you?"  
April had rolled, leaning over him now, "Definitely."  
She leaned down, kissing him, and began to let her lips trail down his neck, "You are practically the devil's spawn."

Chris's eyes opened, "I'm not going to argue with him there."  
April stopped kissing him, her attention diverted, "So I take it you still haven't talked to Damon."

Chris eyed her, "Actually I did."

She raised a brow, "Before or after you threw a bottle at his car?"

Chris smirked, "After. I broke the window too."  
He moved his arm to wrap it around her body, "Was he pissed?"

Chris shrugged, "He was a little more distracted by the fact that my mother had been lying to him for fifteen years."  
April's eyes widened, "He knows then? About you?"  
Chris nodded.  
"Why are you just mentioning this?! What happened? What did he say?"

Christian sighed, leaning up to kiss her forehead, "It's not that big a deal, babe."  
"The hell it's not," she shot, "He's your dad, Chris. You can play it off all you want, but I know that that means something to you."

Chris sighed, sitting up, his gaze traveling over to the rushing water.

"He's not my Dad, April. He lost that right a long time ago."

She gave him a sympathetic look, "He didn't know, babe. You can't blame him for not coming back if he didn't know there was a reason he should."  
He looked back at her, their blue eyes leveled, "It's not about me, April. Yeah, I hate that he wasn't around, but big whoop. Like you said, he didn't know. That's not what I blame him for."

Her brows furrowed, "Then what?"  
"He shouldn't have left," Chris explained, "My mother loved him. She's only ever loved him, and he just left her…it's sick. My grandpa told me the whole story…"

"Giuseppe?"

Chris shook his head, "Grayson. He told me that my mom wanted to be a doctor…that she had her entire life set up…until she got with Damon. He talked her into changing her plans, going with him instead. Except that didn't happen. Because after his first semester of college, he came home, fucked her, then dumped her…he ruined her life."  
April leaned over, cupping his cheek, "If you ask me, he gave her the best thing a person can give. Whatever might have happened, you're here because of it, and you know your mom wouldn't change that for the world. People make mistakes, Chris…maybe the point isn't to focus on what happened back then…maybe it's to see what could happen now."

He thought about her words.  
Maybe somehow, this whole twisted situation had a bright side…but it didn't change the truth of what happened. It was only going to change things in his life.  
He thought of Damon.  
Of the look the man had given him when he'd realized he was staring at his son.

There might have been something there.  
He just wasn't sure that he wanted to take the chance to find out.  
But at least he didn't have to think about it right now.  
He just smiled, pulling his girlfriend into his side, "You're a sucker for happy endings, aren't you?"  
She rolled her eyes, but smirked, "So what if I am? It's better than being an eternal pessimist."  
He gave her that one, but sighed.  
It really was getting late.  
"We should probably start heading back."  
She nodded her agreement, and they stood, wrapping up the blanket they'd been using.  
Christian tucked it under his arm, and slid his free one around April's shoulders.

It wasn't very far to their houses.

"So was he there when you left?" April pressed after a moment, "Damon, I mean?"

Chris nodded, "Yeah, he was."  
April stared at their feet while they walked, "Is there even a chance that you want to get to know him?"

Chris considered this, "I don't know. I guess a part of me wonders what he's like, you know, but the bigger part just wants him gone. I don't want him to come in and ruin what my mom and I have."  
April glanced up at him, "I think you're just scared."  
That struck a nerve, "I am not scared."  
She chuckled a little, "Oh really? Because meeting my father for the first time ever, especially knowing I have some deep rooted issues with him, would scare the hell out of me."  
He smiled a little, "First of all, my issues are very shallow, thank you. And second, maybe I am a little nervous about it. I mean, things aren't perfect for me and my mom, but it's good. We make it work. I don't want Damon to come in and hurt her again."  
"Well, what if he doesn't?" April challenged, "What if he's still her one true love, and they decide to try and make it work."  
Chris shot her a look, "How many Nicholas Sparks books have you been reading?"

She huffed, "What? Now you have a problem with me being a romantic too?"  
He chuckled, kissing her head, "No, I love the fact that you're romantic. Just…don't express it through future predictions of my estranged parents, please."

"Fine," she consented, letting them walk the rest of the way in peace.

* * *

**I know this one was a little shorter, sorry! But it had to end here! I think you guys will enjoy the next chapter a lot more!**

**Again, thanks for the reviews, they mean more than you know!  
**

**I hope ya'll liked!  
**

**What did you think about Grayson's version of the story that he told Chris?  
Do you think Damon will be able to get through to his son?  
How will Grayson react to Damon's return after so long?  
Will/Should Elena confront her father? Or will it just stir up more trouble?  
Do you think Damon will be able to help with Chris's rebelling?**

**Please leave your opinions in a review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**You guys are awesome!**

**Thanks for all the reviews :) Seriously, they are great!**

**I think you guys are really gonna like this chapter!**

* * *

He should have left.  
He knows that he should have, with every fiber in his being.  
Because being here, right now, was a bad idea. A very, very, bad idea.  
But it felt so good.  
Damon refilled their glasses with the amber liquid. The bottle was over half empty, and he was pretty sure Elena was feeling a buzz.  
She was smiling at him, as he sat the bottle down, and raised his glass to her.  
She did the same, before bringing it to her lips.  
Lips that he couldn't stop staring at.

He knew, without a doubt, that he had made the right choice, in deciding to stay in Mystic Falls. To be there for Christian…his son.  
And even though the idea sounded weird in his head, he planned on doing everything he could to make up for the past.  
However, getting drunk with his ex-girlfriend, the love of his life, and the mother of his child, probably wasn't the smartest move to make.

He should have left, went home, after Chris took off.  
But Elena had looked so small, so lost…he couldn't just take off and leave her like that, even if he was only going up the road.  
So he did what he did best. Poured them a drink.  
That was at least three hours ago.

Part of his mind was aware of the fact that the sun had gone down, that it was getting late, and he probably should stop refilling their glasses if he planned on driving home.  
But something in Elena's carefreeness, her laughter, and her relaxed easiness, had him grounded.  
They had talked, mostly about Christian at first.  
Damon now knew his son's birthday, his favorite color, what classes he loved, and hated, the names of his best friends, and girlfriend, and most of the embarrassing childhood stories that every parent was responsible for cherishing.  
Elena hadn't hesitated to answer any of his questions, as far as Chris was concerned. But then the conversation moved on.  
They talked about their jobs, their past relationships.  
He was surprised to hear that Elena hadn't really dated much.  
Well, neither had he, unless you counted hook ups with random strangers.  
But Elena wasn't that kind of girl, that kind of _woman_. He could tell.  
It was definitely a strange realization for him, as they swapped stories and memories.  
Elena was so much like she used to be. So beautiful, and bright.

Yet, she had changed.  
There was something about her that seemed stronger, fiercer.

A trait that reared when she talked about their son.  
He had no doubt that she was an amazing mother. He could hear it in her voice.  
She loved Christian, so much.  
He was literally the center of her universe, and something in Damon yearned to understand that love.  
To get to know his son, to be the father that Chris deserved.

He just had no clue how to start.

"Are you hungry or anything?" Elena asked after a moment, their conversation dying down.  
Damon leaned further back into his seat, "If I eat anything right now, it's just going to come right back up."  
He chuckled when her nose scrunched, "You're gross."  
"Just honest," he grinned, "Drinking 101, don't eat anything after shot number three."

Elena smirked, "I'll remember that for next time."  
Damon raised a brow. Next time?

Before he could tease her, the front door opened, and they both jumped a little.  
"Chris?" Elena called, and sure enough, the kid appeared in the opening of the living room.  
"Home," he stated, his eyes spotting Damon, "He's _still _here?"  
Damon answered before Elena could, "Just catching up, and enjoying this bottle of Mystic Grill's finest."  
He lifted the drink toward his son, "Thanks, by the way."  
Chris almost seemed amused, "So the bottle made it…too bad you can't say the same for your window."  
Damon chucked, "Trying to get a rise out of _me_?"  
Chris sighed, walking into the room, sitting next to Elena on the sofa, "So, can we get this over with, I need to get ready for bed soon."

Damon looked at Elena, but she seemed just as confused.  
He focused back on his son, "What exactly is the 'this' we're supposed to be getting over?"  
Chris raised a brow, "Stolen bottle, broken window, big fight, me storming out…let me know as soon as anything rings a bell."  
Damon smirked, "You're waiting for a lecture?"  
Chris grunted, "Live in the same house as her," he motioned to Elena, "And you learn the drill pretty quick. Lectures are an important part of a teenager's development after all…"  
Elena shot him a look, "Excuse me, mister, that's what your grandmother says, not me."  
Chris raised a brow, "So you're not going to lecture me?"  
She copied him, "Do you need to be lectured?"  
Chris's gaze shifted between the two of them, "Okay, seriously, where's the fireworks? The groundings? The rule changing? Mom, can you start yelling at me? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone."

Elena stared at him for a moment, then sighed.  
"No, Chris…I'm not going to yell at you."

She stood then, leaning over to kiss his head, "I'm going to go take a shower, then go to bed...I suggest you do the same, soon."

She left then, throwing a parting glance at Damon, before walking down the hall to her room, leaving a confused Chris alone with his father.

* * *

Damon took a deep breath as Chris turned, looking at him.

The awkwardness was so thick, he could have cut it with a knife, but he didn't want to be pushy.  
He knew that the ultimate decision, about the relationship he wanted, was up to his son.  
"So," Chris started after a moment, "She's gone now…you gonna chew my ass about the window, or what?"  
Damon held his gaze, feeling a shiver as he stared at the blend of Elena and himself.

"No, I'm not."  
"Why not?" Chris demanded, "You gotta be pissed about it. And why didn't you rat me out after? Even before you knew who I was, you saw me, at the grill last night…why didn't you tell Mom, or call the sheriff?"  
Damon set his glass down, "Well, to answer your first question, I'm the last person to be lecturing you. Like you so blatantly pointed out, I'm not your dad. I haven't earned that right. And I didn't call the police, or rat to your mother, because I was your age once, too. My track record wasn't exactly the cleanest, not that I stole alcohol from the Grill, but still…even if we didn't share DNA, tattling is a dick move. And though it may be considered bad parenting, I can say that I was impressed that you managed to pull that plan off."

Chris seemed surprised by the answer, however, he cleared his throat, "But you're still mad."

"Yes, I'm pissed," Damon admitted, "Who wouldn't be? However, knowing who you are now…I get it. I get why you'd be angry enough to waste a perfectly good, free bottle of liqueur in hopes of damaging my car…not that I condone it."

Chris shook his head, "I don't think you know me well enough to actually _get_ it."  
Damon shrugged, "Fair enough…but that could change."  
Chris raised a brow, "Is this the part where we break into tears, have some cliché father/son bonding, and ride off into the sunset?"

"No," Damon allowed, pulling both his and Elena's glasses over to refill them, "This is where we have a drink, talk about all the ways I've screwed up, and decide what we want to do next."  
He picked up the glass, offering it to Christian.  
The teen's eyes widened a little, "Are you being serious? You know Mom will kill you if she finds out you're letting me drink."

Damon shrugged it off, "Well, then I'll be dead, and you're off the hook. Besides, I'm buzzed enough that I probably won't feel much of the pain anyway."  
Chris considered this, then reached over, taking the glass.

They both turned it up, and Damon was a little surprised at how well the kid held his liqueur.

"More?"

Chris slid the glass back to him, and Damon refilled it.  
"So, what exactly is this?" Chris questioned, "Getting me drunk so I'll decide to like you or something? Because I have to say, it's a little concerning that your first act of fatherhood is letting me have a glass of the tequila I stole."  
Damon took a swig from his own glass, "It's not like you don't already do it anyway. You can psychoanalyze all you want…but in truth, I have no idea what else to do. There's not exactly a manual to trying to start a relationship with your newly discovered teenage son. So, I'm doing what I'm good at doing, which is getting drunk, and probably making your mother hate me. So can you play morality police some other time? It's been a bit of a long day."

* * *

Christian had no idea what to think.

Part of him wanted to believe that this was Damon's manipulative way of breaking down his walls, but something told him that that wasn't true.  
The man was just as confused as he was…just as lost on what to do.

"So, uh, now that the drinking part is started, are we moving on to talking about the ways you've screwed up?"  
Damon stared at him, "If that's what you want."

Chris scoffed, "Alright, then which indiscretion should we start with?"

Damon leaned further into the chair, "Well, that list could go on all night. How about cutting to the chase…I know that you hate me."  
"And to think that I was trying so hard to hide it," Chris mocked offense, "What's your point?"  
Damon sighed, "My point, is that like it or not, Chris, I am your father. It's a fucked up situation, but it's what we got. So we can beat around the bush, or we can just lay it out. I've made bad choices in my life. I have plenty of regrets, and I'm going to screw up in the future. I'm not trying to pretend like this will all be peachy perfect. But I do want the chance to be in your life. And that's only going to happen if you decide that that's what you want. So whatever we need to do, or talk about, to make you hate me less, let's get it over with."

Chris studied his father.

Hating the man was so much easier than sticking out an olive branch.  
He wanted to hate him.

But some ache in his chest, some long wished, unfulfilled desire made him hesitate.

I would be easy to make a smart ass comment, kick the guy out, and carry on with his life.

Simple.

But then this chance may never come again.

For the first time in his life, his father was there, looking at him, offering him something that he use to fantasize about as a child.

He swallowed, "So where do we start?"

He didn't miss the light smile that spread across Damon's face, "How about from the beginning?"

Chris raised a brow, "Meaning?"

Damon put the glass down, and stood, motioning for Chris to do the same.  
Once they were both on their feet, Damon exhaled, then offered his hand, "Damon Giuseppe Salvatore."

Chris bit his lip, before sighing, and reaching out, shaking his father's hand, "Christian James Salvatore."

Damon's grip was firm, "It's great to finally meet you…Son."

* * *

Elena awoke to her alarm blaring its usual nonsense.  
She checked the time, and groaned.  
She had to get up, get ready for work, wake up Chris, get him off to school, and then find some aspirin for her headache.  
She probably shouldn't have drank so much last night.  
She yawned, vaguely remembering the last bit of her conversation with Damon.  
Then Chris had come home…and she had gotten so tired, but they had been talking…and the rest was a blur.

She shook her head, walking into the bathroom to splash some water on her face.  
She'd just have to call Damon later, make sure that she didn't embarrass herself too badly.

Within record time, she had put on her slacks, heels, and her favorite red V-necked sweater.  
She ran a curling iron through her hair, threw on some light make up, and decided that she looked presentable enough.  
Opening her bedroom door, she crossed the hall, to knock on Chris's.

When he didn't answer, she opened it slightly.

Chris wasn't in his bed.

In fact, he wasn't even in his room.

"What in the…" she trailed off as she walked toward the living room, and stopped.  
Damon and Chris were both passed out on opposite ends of the couch, their feet on the coffee table, an empty bottle between them.

What exactly did she miss last night?

"Chris," she called, moving to shake the boy's shoulder, "Time to wake up."  
He stirred a little, his movement waking up Damon.

"What time is it?" he groaned, looking around.  
"It's twenty minutes until eight," Elena sighed, shaking Chris again, "Which means that you need to hurry and get ready for school."

Chris grumbled, "No. My head hurts."  
Elena raised a brow, "Well, that's what you get for staying up drinking."  
Chris groaned, but began to move, "His idea…"  
Elena turned an accusing eye on her ex, "Really, Damon? On a school night? You had to get him drunk on a school night?"

Damon only smirked, his eyes closing, "He's fine…and no one got drunk…just tipsy."

Chris stretched a little, standing, "I'll go get dressed."  
He kissed Elena's head before taking off to his room.

She turned her attention back to Damon.

"What in the hell happened last night?"  
He pulled himself into a sitting position, "We…talked."  
She raised a brow, "Talked?"  
Damon nodded, "Yeah, but you seem like you're in a hurry, so we should probably wait until later before getting into the good stuff."

She checked the time, "Yeah, you may actually be right. I need to get Chris's breakfast done, and then I need to find my purse, so I can get the flash drives out for the article's-"  
Damon placed a hand on her shoulder, "Breathe, Elena."  
She did as he said, and he smiled, "I'll throw something together for Chris, you go find your purse."  
"Are you sure?" she asked, perplexed.

Damon nodded, "Of course…now go."  
She didn't have to be told twice, and disappeared to take care of her business.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, she was making her way into the kitchen, and found Damon loading her dish washer, while Chris finished what appeared to be the remainder of an omelet.  
"Everything okay in here?" she asked.

"Yeah, just picking up," Damon answered, "Your breakfast is waiting on the counter."

She looked over and noticed the plate, with the rather large cheesy omelet on it.  
"Thanks, but I should be going soon. My boss hates it when we-"  
"Mom, you really should eat," Chris objected, "Besides, this isn't that bad."

Damon scoffed, "Not that bad? Excuse me, my omelets are legendary."

"No," Chris argued, "Grandma Val's omelets are legendary. Yours aren't that bad."  
Damon shook his head, but he had a smirk on his face.

A horn sounded outside then, and Christian rose from his seat, "That's Tyler, I gotta go."

He gave Elena a quick hug, grabbed his bag, and threw a glance at Damon.

"So, uh…thanks for breakfast, Damon."  
Damon shrugged, "No problem."

Chris gave him a nod, then turned, hurrying out the door.

Elena wanted to ask, curious about what had happened last night, but she really was going to be late if she didn't leave soon.

"You should eat," Damon told her.

"I know, but I really need to-"  
"Elena," he stepped around the island, bring the plate and a fork to her, "Just sit down and eat your damn breakfast."

She met his gaze, then chuckled, "Fine…but it's gotta be fast. I need to get going."

Damon nodded, and she sat down.

She bit into the egg and was surprised at how good it was.  
It had been a while since she'd eaten breakfast of any kind.

"Damon Salvatore can cook…who knew?"

He smirked, "My mother trained me well."  
"Ah," Elena took another hurried bite. Valentina was admittedly, the best chef she'd ever met. That woman could make trash taste edible.

As she ate, Damon watched her.

She found it a bit disturbing after a moment, and tried to strike up a conversation, "So…last night?"  
He raised a brow, "I thought you wanted to wait to talk."  
She shrugged, finishing the last few bites of her food, "I'm curious."

Damon grabbed a glass, opened her fridge, and pulled out the orange juice, before sitting both in front of her.

"Do you get a lunch break?"

She nodded, as she filled the cup, and washed down her breakfast.

"What time?"

"About noon, usually," she told him, and Damon nodded.  
"Okay, I'll pick you up today. We can go eat somewhere, and we can talk about last night."

She nodded. It wasn't a bad plan.

"Works for me," she agreed, moving to pull her car keys from her purse, "But I really need to get going."

Damon nodded, "I understand."  
She walked to the door with him, then hesitated.

"So…were you just wanting to hang out here or…"

Damon glanced around, "I'm going to finish cleaning up my mess in the kitchen, but then I'll probably head back to Mom's."

Elena crooked her head, "You really don't have to clean the kitchen…I'll get it later when-"  
"I want to," he insisted, "Besides, you need to get going. I'll be sure to lock the house when I leave."  
Elena sighed, "Yeah, you're right…okay."

He smiled, "Have a good day at work, then."

She opened the door, smirking, and made her way to her car.  
But before pulling out, she glanced back at her porch.

Damon stood there, waving, and for the first time, she was really looking forward to lunch.

* * *

**So this chapter was a big part of the Chris/Damon relationship!  
It's still going to take some building, so don't expect anything to just fall perfectly into place, yet. lol  
**

**I really had fun writing this one though, and I can't wait to hear your opinions!**

**Do you think Chris will grow to trust Damon?  
Will Elena give Damon a second chance?  
What should Delena talk about at their "lunch"?**

**Review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Again, Awesome reviews!**

**You guys are so inspirational!**

**It seems like some of you have mixed feelings on different points of this story, and I love that! But I think we can all find common ground on one thing.  
HATING GRAYSON! Lol.**

**Working on that scene now ;)**

**But on with it!**

* * *

Chris fought the urge to close his eyes.

He'd only been in this god awful history class for thirty minutes, and already, he felt like his head was going to explode.  
Though that might have something more to do with the alcohol he'd consumed than the class itself.

He wiped his hand down his face.  
It had been a really long night.

After the first few drinks, they'd just started talking.  
They didn't even really hit the deep stuff, which Chris was kind of grateful for, but he was sure that they'd come to some sort of unspoken understanding.  
He may not be Damon's biggest fan, but maybe the whole "giving him a chance" thing wouldn't be so bad after all.  
Though it was one of those things that only time could tell.  
He'd just have to wait it out.

Unfortunately for him, word of his father's arrival in Mystic Falls seemed to spread over the weekend.  
Everywhere he turned, it seemed like someone was talking about Damon being back.

Mostly girls.

Which was actually even more annoying.

And he'd even had a few ask him if he was related to Damon.

He'd opted for the no comment, and pushed through the hall, until he reached his locker.  
He was changing out his books when a hand landed on his shoulder.  
"Hey, Chris, do you-"  
"Look, if it's about Damon, just bug off! I have no-" he stopped when he realized it was just April.  
"Oh, hey, sorry," he apologized.

She raised a brow, "You seem tense."  
He shot her a look, "So you haven't heard the news then?"

Confusion clouded her face, "What news?"

"Damon Salvatore's back in town," Chris mocked, "Like, OMG isn't he just the cutest?"

April laughed, hitting his arm, "Okay, that's not funny. I seriously thought something was wrong."

He chuckled, "No more than the usual."  
She eyed him, "Anyone giving you a hard time?"  
"Nah," he shrugged, "They just speculate…anyway, were you asking me something?"  
"Oh, yeah…I was just going to see what happened last night. You never called so…"

"Ah," he'd actually completely forgot, "What do you say we ditch, and I'll tell you all about it?"

She smirked, a mischievous gleam in her eyes, "I know a place."  
He chuckled, "This is why I love you."

She took his hand, pulling him down the hall, "No, you'd love me anyway."  
"That's probably true," he reasoned, and let her lead him along, not complaining one bit.

* * *

Elena felt Damon's hand on the small of her back as he led her to their table, and tried to fight off the blush that was coloring her cheeks.  
Such an innocent touch really shouldn't affect her.  
But it was Damon.  
Everything about him affected her.  
Soon, they were seated, and had their food ordered.  
"So," she began, "Last night?"

She'd tried to bring it up in the car on the way over, but he'd insisted that they wait.  
Damon leaned back into his seat, eyeing her, "I really don't know what's happening between me and Chris. Like I said, we talked last night…not about anything important, but just the fact that he was willing to sit in the room and have a conversation with me…that's got to say something right?"

Elena smiled a little, "Chris isn't unreasonable, Damon. You just have to find a way to get through to him…though I have to say, alcohol might not be the best choice."  
Damon smirked, "Yeah, that was just a buffer," he sighed, "I have no idea what I'm doing with any of this."  
Elena nodded, "I've had fifteen years to adjust, and I still have no idea what I'm doing half the time."

Damon gave her a look, placing his elbows on the table, "Now I'm sure that's not true."  
"It is though," she insisted, "I mean, I love Chris, don't get me wrong. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him…but half the time it's just taking it one day at a time. And the older he's gotten the more complicated that's become. All the hormones and acting out…sometimes I don't feel like I have a handle on this parenting thing…it's scary, it really is. But I wouldn't trade it for anything."  
Damon eyed her, his gaze intense, "Chris is lucky to have had you."  
She could feel the blush coloring her cheek, "I'd like to think so…he's the best thing that's ever happened to me, Damon."  
Damon sighed, "I know…but I feel as though I should still be apologizing to you…"  
Elena shook her head, "No. We both made mistakes. There's a world of things that I'm sure we both wish we could change…but I don't want to have to go through that weird, finding ways to make it up to each other phase. This is how things are, and we just have to work with that."  
Damon nodded, "So…how exactly do we work with this?"

Elena let her head rest on her hands, "Well, did you mean what you said? About wanting to stay in Mystic Falls? Be in Christian's life?"  
"You know I did," he insisted.  
"Then we'll start there," she said simply, "Chris needs you, Damon, whether he knows it or not. So we'll just have to try this out, and see what happens."  
Damon nodded, but held her gaze, "And what about us?"  
Elena blinked, "What about us?"

He shot her a look, as if it were obvious.

"Look, Elena, I know I screwed up in the past. But leaving here…that doesn't mean I got over you. I didn't want to leave you. I just truly felt like I needed to, like you would be better off if I just left you alone…but do you think it's a coincidence that neither of us have settled down after all this time?"  
Elena saw where he was going with this, but she couldn't allow herself to go there.  
Not with him, not yet.  
"Damon-"  
"No," he cut off her interruption, "Just hear me out, please."  
She sighed, nodding, and he continued, "Neither of us wanted things to end up the way they did between us, and yes, I was an idiot, and made stupid decisions, but now, especially knowing everything about our son, I think we owe it to ourselves to give it a chance…for Chris's sake, if nothing else."

Elena looked down at the table.  
He had a fair point, but she couldn't…she wasn't ready for that.  
Damon had been her entire world, all those years ago, and at one time, she would have taken him back in a heartbeat, especially if that meant giving Chris a family…but she'd grown up some over the years, and she knew that even though Damon's intentions were in the right place, _they _weren't ready for this yet.

"I understand what you're saying, I really do," she told him, "But I think it would be better if we worked on being friends first. Christian isn't a young child anymore…and yes, I think he needs you in his life, but that doesn't mean he needs _us_, together," she took a breath, "We need to be focusing on him right now, not us. And trying to jump into a relationship with each other, just because of Chris, might do more harm than good."

Damon's brows furrowed, "You say that like Christian is the only reason I'd want to be with you…"  
Elena gave him a look, "Isn't he?"

"Hardly. I mean, he is definitely a factor, but he's not the only reason. We were pretty damn good together once, Elena."  
She huffed, "Yeah, nearly half a lifetime ago."

He sighed, "So you're going to tell me that there's nothing left, at all, between us? That being around me does nothing for you? Because I can't play complacent, Elena. If I'm going to be in Chris's life, then I'm going to be in yours too, and there is too much between us for there not to be some kind of feelings."

Elena shook her head, "But that's exactly my point, Damon. There is too much between us. We don't need to complicate this any more than we already have. Trying to work out our feelings for each other is just going to make it messy. And Chris doesn't need that."

* * *

Damon couldn't argue with her point.  
But that didn't mean he had to like it, or completely agree with it.  
His mind had become clearer last night than it had been in a very long time.

He wanted to be in Chris's life, yeah, but he also wanted to be in hers.  
And not as a damn friend.

He wanted a family with them.

Something inside of him told him that she wanted the same thing, but she wasn't ready to go there yet.  
Not that he could entirely blame her.  
He'd really been an ass the last time they were together, and had shattered all the trust she had in him.  
He couldn't expect her to just jump back on the wagon because he flew back in her life.

No, she would need more than that.

But he'd do whatever it took. Because in the short time he'd been back in her company, he felt whole again.  
Which is something that he'd been missing for a while.  
So if friendship was where he had to start, he would do that, for her…and for Chris.

"You're right," he finally said, nodding, "We need to focus on Christian right now. Let him get use to me being around."

She seemed to relax a little at his words, "I think he'll warm up to the idea the more time the two of you spend together."  
Damon nodded, "I'm hoping the same, but I don't want to push him."  
Elena sighed, "To be honest, he might need a little pushiness. He's a lot like you with his stubbornness. Let him call all of the shots, and he'll think he can have his way with anything. You can't just be there and hope that he'll try to include you in his daily routines."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Damon insisted, "Follow him around everywhere? Talk him into staying at Mom's with me so we can try the whole bonding thing? Because I seriously have no clue how this works. I'm willing to try anything, but I don't know how to force myself into his life without intruding."  
Elena's brows furrowed, "I see what you mean."

The waitress brought their food then, and Damon fought a groan when the girl's eyes widened.

"Hey, you're Damon Salvatore, aren't you?"

One fucking break, please.  
"In the flesh," he shot, and the girl practically squealed.

"Oh my god! Can I have your autograph?!"

Damon's eyes shot to Elena, who almost seemed a little startled.  
"Uh, I'll get it to you after desert, okay darlin'?"

Excitedly the girl nodded, "Thank you!"

He politely gestured for her to carry on, and when she finally left, he focused back on Elena.

"I'd almost forgotten," she stated.

He raised a brow, "Forgotten?"  
"That you were famous," she explained, "I guess with everything going on, it wasn't registering. Is it like that everywhere?"

He sighed, "Not really, well, sometimes…there's ups and downs to it."

She nodded, but didn't comment, so he shot them back to their previous topic.  
"So, about Chris…any ideas?"

Elena seemed to hesitate, clearly thinking.

After a moment of silence, he wanted to interrupt, but before he said anything, she brought her gaze back to his.  
"There is something we could try…something that would let you spend more time with him, on a daily basis. But it might be a little…uncomfortable, at first."  
His brow raised, "I guess anything's at least considerable."  
She nodded, "Okay, well, I was thinking that you could maybe start staying with us…at the house."  
Damon eyed her, "You mean sleeping over? Or living there?"

Elena shrugged, "Either, I guess. There's only two bedrooms, but the couch folds out into a bed, and it would let you be around Chris all the time."

He considered this.  
Spending time with Christian every night, living in the same house…seeing Elena every day.

"I think it might be worth trying," he told her, keeping his voice level.

She nodded, "Yeah…okay. But I need to at least run it by Chris. If he's completely against it, then I doubt it will help much."  
"Good point," Damon agreed, "So ask him tonight?"

Elena nodded, "Yeah…and I should probably do it alone. I think he might be more honest if it's just the two of us."

Damon wasn't thrilled about that.

He wanted to be there to pitch his case, but he was also sure that Elena knew Chris better than he was ever going to, so it would probably be smart to let her call the shots.  
"Yeah, that'll work…I'll probably be at Mom's by then, so uh, call me?"

She nodded, "Of course."

* * *

Christian wasn't sure what to think when he got home to find Damon's Camaro gone.

It wasn't like he had expected the man to stick around all day, but maybe a small part of him was hoping that he'd still be there.

Chris shook his head.

One night with the man didn't exactly mean that he was going to jump head first into the father thing.  
It was stupid of him to expect too much.

He waited until Tyler drove away before heading toward the porch.

His conversation with April was still playing in his head.

They'd skipped third period, which was really just study hall that no one went to anyway, and followed a trail up behind the high school, that lead up to the west wing, which was now only use to host dances.

They'd sat under the awning, against the building, and snacked on the gummy worms she'd had stowed in her purse.  
He'd told her everything about his talk with Damon the night before, and how he was thinking about giving the guy a chance, see if this whole father thing was going to work out.

April, of course, had been her usual encouraging self, telling him that she was proud of him for making that decision, and that she thought it would be good for him to have a relationship with Damon.

She had said it with such conviction, he couldn't help but believe her.

Even when he'd tried to play it off, she'd called him out.

"He's your dad, Chris. Nothing anyone does is going to change that. And it's fine to be hesitant, I mean, on purpose or not, he still hurt you. But this is good. The two of you _need_ to work this out. And not for his sake, but for yours too."

And, as usual, she was right.

He sighed, walking into the house.

"Mom, I'm home," he called out.  
"In here," her voice came from the kitchen.

Curious of the smells that accompanied it, he dropped his bag and made his way toward her.

"Cooking already?" he asked as he entered.

Elena pushed her hair back from her face, pulling a dish from the oven.

Peach cobbler.

"Who died?" he wondered aloud.

She gave him a look, and he chuckled.

"Face it mom," he insisted, "When my dog ran away, you made cobbler. When you had to go on that week long seminar thing, you made cobbler, when you forced me to participate in the Parade last year, you made cobbler. When Aunt Care insisted that we-"  
"I get it," she interrupted, chuckling, "It's obvious that I should make desert more often."  
He smirked, sitting down on a stool, "Yeah, yeah, just fess up. What's going on this time?"

Sighing, she took off her oven mitts, and leaned her elbows on the table.

"I need to talk to you…about Damon."  
Chris blinked, "What about him?"

His mom eyed him for a moment, before answering, "I think…we thought, that it might be a good idea for the two of you to see each other more."

Chris had expected as much, but that didn't really seem cobbler worthy.

"And….?" He pressed.  
She bit her lip, "And I may have put out the idea of him staying with us for a while?"

Chris's brows furrowed. Damon…living with them?

"Staying here?"

Elena nodded, "But it's entirely up to you."

He considered that, "Where would he even sleep?"

"On the couch, it folds out…but if you aren't comfortable with the idea of him being here then we can-"  
"No," he cut her off.

Damon had made the first step.  
He'd offered to be a part of Chris's life, and was apparently willing to do anything to keep up his end.  
And whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was curious about the man.  
He actually wanted to know him.

"I mean, there's no harm in trying it out, right? If it doesn't work, then he can just go back to Grandma's?"  
Elena nodded, "Yes, of course."

Chris turned it over in his mind.  
Damon actually staying with them.

This was surely to be interesting.

"Yeah, I guess that's okay then," he reasoned, and Elena actually moved around the island, and pulled him to her.  
He wrapped his arms around her, "Thank you for working with me, Chris. I really do think he wants to try."  
Chris nodded, "I just want things to be okay."

She kissed the top of his head, only able to do so because he was sitting down.  
"They will be, baby. I promise."

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!**

**I know you were probably wanting more from the Chris/Damon night talk, but they will have plenty of bonding moments, trust me!**

**So what did you guys think about the lunch "date"?  
Do you think Elena is right in insisting that they just stay friends?  
How do you think things will work out with Damon moving in?**

**All opinions and advice are appreciated! :)**

**Please review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Alright guys, this is a build up chapter, but it will introduce Grayson finally!**

**Hope you enjoy :) And thanks for all the reviews!**

* * *

After his conversation with Elena, Damon hadn't quite been ready to go back to his house.  
His father was probably at work, and who knew what his mother was doing, so he went to Stefan's instead.

"You want another beer?" Stefan called from the kitchen.  
"Nah, I'm good," Damon insisted, "Three's my limit today."  
"Alright."

Stefan walked back into the living room and sat on the couch opposite of Damon, continuing with their conversation.  
"So what do you think Chris will decide?"

Damon shrugged, "I really don't know. I'd like to think that he'll give me a chance, but fifteen years is a long time."  
Stefan nodded, "For what it's worth, I never thought Elena should have kept it from you."

Damon shrugged, "It is what it is, brother. I made my choices back then, and I paid for them…now I'm just trying to do the right thing."

He looked down at his phone then, "Speaking of which, I told Elena I'd be at Mom's…so I should probably go."

"Yeah, okay," Stefan nodded, standing, "Thanks for stopping."

Damon stood, embracing his brother, "We'll do it again, soon, I promise….say hello to Caroline and the kids for me. Sorry I missed them."  
"There will be time later," Stefan noted.  
Damon agreed, "Lots."

* * *

Damon took his time getting home.  
Elena had his cell number, and she hadn't called yet, which led him to assume that she either hadn't asked Christian about their arrangement, or the answer wasn't what she had hoped.

He almost wanted to laugh at how nervous he felt.  
Seriously, concerts filled with thousands were no big deal, but just the thought of this teenager rejecting him had his stomach doing flips.

He pulled into the drive, taking deep breaths.  
Giuseppe's car was the only one in the drive, so Damon knew Elena hadn't come over.  
This was frightening and relieving.

Either way, he'd accept the situation, and try to make the best of it.  
Which was really all he could do at this point.

Making his way inside, he decided that if Elena hadn't called him by nightfall, he'd call her, and they'd decide where to go from there.  
He felt a little better, having this plan, and made his way into the living room.

Giuseppe was there, drink in hand, some document looking paper in the other.

"Father," Damon greeted, walking toward the older man, and the drink bar, to pour himself a glass.  
"Damon," Giuseppe peaked over the top of his reading glasses, "You're home…good, I was hoping to talk to you."

Damon felt his eyebrow raise, "What about, exactly?"  
"I spoke to your mother earlier," Giuseppe noted, "She told me that you knew about Christian."

Damon nodded, "I called her this morning."

"Wondering why we helped Elena keep Christian a secret, I'm sure."  
"I'd be lying if I said that it didn't come up," he allowed, and Giuseppe sighed.

"Your mother probably explained it perfectly…but I wanted to apologize."  
Damon blinked, "Uh, okay. Thanks…"

Giuseppe sighed, "I actually need to apologize for more…"  
Damon wasn't sure where he was going with this, but allowed the man to keep talking.

"I know that you and I never saw eye to eye on things, but when you left…when you didn't come back, it made me realize just how hard I'd been on you," Giuseppe sat the papers down, and Damon held his gaze, "It was wrong of me to try to stop you from doing the things you loved, and that you were clearly good at. I never should have drove you away with my intolerance."

Damon was confused at where this was coming from, but offered his father a smile, "You didn't drive me away, Dad…but thanks."  
Giuseppe nodded, "But I still need to ask you something."  
"Sure, what is it?"  
The eldest Salvatore exhaled, "Did you know Elena was pregnant? Before you left, I mean?"  
"Of course not," Damon insisted, "I never would have left her if I'd known."

Giuseppe accepted this, "I believe you. My sons aren't cowards…we can't run from our problems."  
Damon took a sip of his drink, "No, we just bury them in work and booze."

Giuseppe chuckled, "A learned habit, I'm afraid. I know I wasn't around as much as I should have been. Not nearly enough. I drank too much, worked too late, and have more regrets than I can count," he placed his hand on Damon's shoulder, "I don't want to see you make the same mistake, Damon. Christian is a good kid…and I'm sorry that you weren't able to find out about him sooner."

Damon nodded, "Yeah, me too. But you're right. I don't want to make the same mistakes I watched you make. I want to be there for him. I don't want Chris to feel like I abandoned him…but I'm not sure how to make it up to him."  
Giuseppe grabbed a bottle, pouring some into both of their glasses, "I don't think it's about making it up to him, Son."  
"Then what do I do?" Damon asked, for the first time in forever, seeking advice from his father, "My entire life has changed over one weekend, and I'm completely lost."

"So is Christian," Giuseppe reasoned, "And Elena. It's a change for all of you, and it's going to take some adjusting. I only wish that we had handled things better back then, but the fact of the matter, is that we can't change that now. All any of us can do is support you. And you need to support Chris, no matter what he says, because like it or not, fatherhood is a very big role that you have very little time to work into. Just remember that nobody's perfect, Damon. We just do the best we can."

* * *

Elena waited until Chris started his homework before going into her room to call Damon.  
Her mind was still churning at the situation.

Christian had given the okay. He actually wanted Damon in his life, and Damon wanted to be in his…theirs.

She felt as if she were still trying to process the fact that he was even back in her life, let alone about to be in their son's.  
She felt a certainty that things were about to change.  
Though if it was for the good or the bad, she'd have to wait and see.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand, and pulled up Damon's number.  
He answered on the second ring.

"Elena?"  
"Yeah, Damon, hey."

"Hey," he answered back, "I was getting worried."  
"Sorry," she swallowed, "I got a bit distracted."

More like she'd been stalling, but whatever, same thing really.

"Ah," he offered, "So…did you talk to him?"

Elena almost smiled at the sound of the hesitancy in Damon's voice.

"I did…he's willing to give it a shot," she told him and chuckled when he sighed in relief.

"That's...good," he stated, "That's good."  
Elena exhaled, "Yeah, I was kind of surprised at how quickly he agreed. I guess whatever you two did the other night worked. But don't take that as permission to give him alcohol every time you want to talk with him."

She heard Damon chuckle, and couldn't help but smile.

"Well, I'll try to refrain from setting too bad of an example," he promised.

"Good," then she sighed, "You're sure you want to do this? Because if you're having doubts, or second thoughts, I'd rather know now then after Chris gets use to having you here…"  
His words were clear, deliberate, "I am sure, Elena. I want this."  
She relaxed a little under his assurance, "Okay, just making sure."  
"I understand," he told her, "But you don't have to worry about that. This idea, I think it'll work out. And I want to be in Chris's life…this has to work."

Elena nodded, even though he couldn't see her.  
"So when do you want to come over?"

He hesitated, "When can I?"  
She considered this, "Well, Chris knows that it' going to happen…so I guess whenever you want."

"Okay…tonight then? I'll need to wait until mom comes home, so I can tell her what's going on, but after that…it won't take long for me to gather my clothes."  
"Tonight sounds great," she insisted, the nerves in her stomach turning.

"Alright then. I'll see you in a few hours."  
She exhaled, "Yeah…see you then."

She could hear the smile in his voice, "Oh, and Elena?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Thank you."

* * *

Chris glanced over his homework assignment for the week, unimpressed.  
The semester was ending soon, which meant final's week was coming up, and all of the teachers seemed to consider it the perfect time to load them down.  
He groaned, reading over his note about needing to do that extra credit for his history class.

It was a simple report over the settlement of Mystic Falls, but the need for him to have to do it was irritating.  
However, irritation was better than failing, so he'd have to pick his poison.

If he was being honest with himself though, this focus on his school work was really just a distraction.

His mother had come in earlier, to let him know that Damon would be coming over, that night…to move in.  
Even though he'd agreed to it, the idea was still a bit unsettling.  
It had just been him and Elena in the house for as long as he could remember, and that was suddenly about to change.

And he had no idea what to expect.  
So instead, he was choosing to just see what happens, and was focusing on his homework.

Sucking it up, the closed his folders and stood.

At least he was blessed with having two founding family members for parents, so surely the Salvatore side or the Gilbert side would have something of interest that he could use.

"Hey, Mom?" he called, walking into the living room, where she was sitting, typing away on her computer, probably working on her article.  
"Yeah?" she glanced up.

"I have a history report due next week, over the founding of Mystic Falls. Do you think Grandma and Grandpa might have something I could use for references? My teacher doesn't want us using Google for the answers."

Her brows furrowed, concentrating, "Well, if I remember right, my parents have a whole stock of Johnathan Gilbert's journals."

"Johnathan Gilbert? The original settler of our family?"  
She nodded, "The same. You want to run over there? I'm sure Grandma can dig up something. She is in charge of the Historical Society Events, after all."

Chris nodded, slightly impressed, "Yeah sure…or I could go, you know, take the car?"  
Elena smirked, "Nice try, kiddo. But you don't have your license yet."  
"I have my permit," he reasoned, "Which is almost the same thing."  
Standing, she closed her lap top, "Keep dreaming, baby, but you don't need to get in any more trouble with Liz."

Chris couldn't help the disappointment that flooded him.  
He was so ready to have his license. Not that hitching rides with Tyler was awful, but still, it would be nice to be able to do for himself.

He heard his mother sigh, "Well, I guess since I'll be in the car, and you do have a permit, a little practice couldn't hurt."  
She reached in her purse and pulled out the keys, handing them to him.

A grin shot across his lips, "Thanks, Mom."

* * *

Within twenty minutes, they were pulling up into the Gilbert's drive way, and Chris was pretty satisfied with himself.  
His driving was definitely improving.

His sense of accomplishment was forgotten, however, by the time they reached the door.  
His mother knocked twice, before turning the knob and letting herself in.  
"Mom, Dad?" she called.

"Elena?" Miranda Gilbert came to greet them.  
"Hey," the two women greeted, then Miranda moved to hug Chris.

"What are you guys up to?"  
Elena slid off her jacket, "Chris is doing a history project for school, I thought he could use those old Johnathan Gilbert journals, or whatever else you had packed away."

Miranda nodded, "Of course! But I actually had your father take them up to the attic a few months ago. The darn things kept popping up everywhere, and the Historical Society Charity Event has already passed this season…Grayson!"

"In here," a voice called from the kitchen.

The trio made their way over.  
"Elena and Chris are here," Miranda announced.  
Grayson looked up from the onion he was chopping, "Oh, hey guys."  
"Hey Grandpa," Chris addressed.

"Do you remember what you did with all of the stuff from the Historical Society?" Miranda asked.  
Grayson thought for a moment, "Should be upstairs."  
"Well, Chris needs some of it for a school project, can you go get it, please Dear?"

He nodded, putting down the knife, and washing his hands, "Sure…Elena, sweetheart, could you come help me?"

Chris straightened, "I can help, Grandpa."

Grayson smiled, placing a hand on Chris's shoulder, "You sure can. I need someone to work on this," he motioned toward the dinner he'd been preparing, "And it's a well-known fact that these Gilbert women can't cook."  
He winked, and Chris grinned.

It was kind of true. His mom did her best, but could probably out bake her any day.  
"No arguments there," Miranda weaved, throwing up her hands, "But I'll help you here, Chris. I haven't seen you in forever anyway."

Chris nodded, "Sure."

* * *

**Done :)**

**So what did you guys think?**

**I found some irony in writing the Damon/Giuseppe scene.  
****A father giving his son fatherly advice on being a father to his son. lol.**

**But did you like the conversation?  
And Damon's moving in! So of course tensions of many kinds will start flying ;)  
**

**The next chapter will have the Elena/Grayson talk I'm sure you've all been looking forward to!  
But I just wanted to point out something in advance.**

**Yes, it is perfectly okay to hate Grayson for what he did.  
But I think that, in his mind, he was truly doing the right thing.  
He made a mistake, which is easy to do as a parent.  
It's easy to hate him as a Delena lover, but as a parent, he was just trying to get his daughter away from a guy he thought was bad for her.  
So while he is the one being slammed in the story, try not to hate too hard lol.**

**He'll find his redemption :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry, I know the last chapter was kind of slow!**

**But this should make up for it :)**

**Hope you like!**

* * *

Elena followed her father up the stairs, toward the attic, mixed feelings assaulting her.

No matter how polite he played it, she knew exactly why he wanted to speak to her alone.  
Hell, the whole town knew about Damon's return, surely Grayson had heard the news.  
However, she had her own bone to pick with him, so maybe it was a good thing.

"Elena," he started, the second they were up in the attic, "We need to talk."  
She nodded, steeling herself, "We most certainly do."

"Why didn't you tell me that Damon Salvatore was back in town?" he half asked, half demanded.  
She raised a delicate brow, "Why is it any of your business?"

"Answer the question, Elena."  
She exhaled, "Alright, fine. As soon as you answer mine….Why did Damon really leave sixteen years ago?"

Grayson eyed her, "Are you implying something?"

"Drop the act, Dad. I know what you did…what you told him."

Grayson grit his teeth, "I only made suggestions. Leaving was his choice."

"Because you berated him into thinking he was worthless!"

"He was!" Grayson spat, "You had an entire life ahead of you, Elena. He was nothing. A wanna-be musician who only wanted one thing from you. I did what I had to, to protect you."

"And look how well that worked," Elena hissed, "Not to mention that he's now one of the most popular names in the music industry. And how dare you say he was nothing. You knew how I felt about him, how much he meant to me!"

"You were a child," Grayson insisted, "You had no idea what you felt. And he got famous by chance. He was no good for you, Elena. Not then, and not now. People in this town talk; I know the two of you had dinner. I don't know what he's telling you, but you don't want to go down that road. The best thing you could do is forget all about him. Don't let him convince you that you need him in your life."

She shook her head, "He is the father of my child. How can you expect him not to be in my life?"

"He doesn't know about Chris, so as long as…" he seemed to measure her expression, and his face glazed over, "You didn't."

Elena sighed, "Valentina told him where I lived, he came over, and Chris answered the door. There's nothing I could have done."  
Grayson let out a swear word, then, "Well, what did he say?"

Elena brought her chin up, "He wants to be in Chris's life. And Chris wants to get to know him, too."  
Grayson shook his head, disapprovingly, "You are seriously going to put that boy through that?"

Her eyes flashed, "What I chose to do about my son, or my life, is none of your concern. And I don't need your approval in my choices. Like it or not, Christian _needs_ Damon."  
"He needs a positive role model, who's going to stick around," Grayson shot, "Giving Christian false hopes that Damon might actually step up makes you nearly as bad he is."

Elena huffed, "You don't know a damn thing about Damon. You never have."  
"And you're sure you do?" Grayson pointed, "It's been fifteen years, Elena…how well _could _you know him?! Not to mention that he's never once come home. How do you know he wasn't aware of Christian all along? Maybe that's why it was so easy for him to leave."  
Elena shook her head, "You would go there, wouldn't you? But it's not true. I was there, Dad! I saw Damon's face when he realized Christian was his. He wants to get to know him, and I think it's a good idea."  
"Until he leaves town again," Grayson insisted.  
"He's not leaving," Elena stated coolly, "And he's actually going to be staying with us."

"Us?"  
She nodded, "Me and Chris. Like I said, he wants this to work."

Grayson froze, "Staying with you? He's living with you?!"

Elena held her ground, "Moving in tonight."  
Grayson grew furious, "Have you lost your damn mind, little girl?!"

Not feeling the need to defend herself, Elena remained calm, "You don't have to like it. But it's my choice, and there's nothing you can say about it. I am not a kid anymore, Dad, and I'm not going to let you dictate the decisions I make about my son."

Grayson was fuming, but steadily replied, "He's going to destroy you both. And you'll have no one to blame, but yourself."  
Elena nodded, "I guess that's a risk I have to take."

He grunted, "Well, I hope it's worth it."  
Elena's eyes rolled, "It will be if Christian gets the chance to know his dad. And as a father, I figured you could respect that!"

Grayson shook his head, "No, I can't. Because that boy will be a hell of a lot better off without Damon in his life."  
Elena exhaled, "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. But it's not your decision, it's mine...and Chris's. We've talked about it, and we both think that this is something we need to do, so hate it all you want, but it wont change anything."

Grayson didn't answer, just glared at her disapprovingly, but she really could care less.  
Her mind was made up.  
"So, are we going to get this stuff or not?"

* * *

Chris could hear his Grandfather's raised voice, and his mother's occasionally, but couldn't make out the words they were saying. But he caught that the gist of it was about Damon.

"Are they okay?" he asked his Grandmother.  
Miranda sighed, "They will be, eventually."

Chris's brows furrowed, "Why does Grandpa hate my father so much?"

Miranda stirred the pot on the stove, but looked up at him.

"To be honest, you'd have to talk to him to get a straight answer. But personally, I think it's because he felt threatened by your dad."  
Chris leaned against the island, "What do you mean?"  
Miranda brushed a strand of his bangs out of his eyes, "It's crazy…how much you resemble him."

Chris nodded, but didn't plan on letting her deviate from the topic, and apparently, she realized this.

"Okay, okay. When your mom was in high school, she was pretty focused on being a doctor, which of course, your grandpa was thrilled about. She dated this guy Matt, who was the quarterback, and she was a cheerleader, and it was pretty much the one-two-three step plan your grandfather had always wanted for her. Then she met Damon."  
Chris nodded, "Grandpa told me that Damon made her change her mind."

Miranda shook her head, "Not exactly. Your mother has always been very sure of herself. When she and Damon got together, I think it was good for her. Given, he wasn't a perfect kid, and they got into trouble a few times, which was a first for your mom, but I really think she was happiest then. I'll always be grateful to Damon for that. He really brought out the life in her."

"So what went wrong?" Chris pressed.

"I'm not sure," Miranda admitted, "I know that your grandfather never really liked him to begin with, but the more Elena began to change, the more Grayson's resentment toward Damon grew. Damon was doing something that scared Grayson. He was actually making Elena think about her life, question her decisions. Then when your mom decided that she wanted to go to California, to college with Damon, to study music, your grandpa lost it. He told her that he didn't want her with Damon anymore, and that he was messing up her future…they fought about it for days, maybe even weeks."

"Sounds intense," Chris noted.

His grandmother nodded, "It was for a while. But your mother had made up her mind. She loved Damon, and no one was going to sway her. In her mind, they had the perfect plan. Go off to college, she'd write the music, he'd sing it, and they'd live happily ever after."

"But Damon left," Chris pointed out.

Miranda sighed, "Yes, he did. But to be honest, it wasn't very surprising to me. People change, Chris. And high school relationships don't always last. Damon moved away. He was gone for a while…and I think in that time, he got the chance to prioritize his life. He knew that Elena had had plans before him, and that his dreams were going to take him down shaky roads. I truly think he did what he thought he had to at the time."

"And Mom getting pregnant was just a happy accident?" he scoffed.

Miranda blushed a little, "It did come as a surprise. I remember your grandfather was furious, but that's life, and sometimes it doesn't go the way you plan. Besides," she cupped his cheek, "Now we have you."

He sighed, "Yeah."

"It'll work out," she promised, "Just give it time."

He nodded, "Did Mom talk to you?"  
"About Damon finding out about you?" she nodded.  
"No," Chris corrected, "About Damon moving in with us."

Miranda's widened eyes was answer enough, "No…she didn't."  
He nodded, "Well, he is…tonight."

She looked up at the ceiling, "No wonder they're going at it."

Chris shrugged, "I think it might be a good thing…that he'll be around."  
Miranda gave him a smile, "I'm sure it will be fine."

They heard the decent of footsteps then, and Elena and Grayson appeared.

"Okay, we got down everything of importance that we could find, and put it in the spare bedroom," his grandpa said, "I'll help you sort through it, see if we can find you what you need."

Chris grinned, "Awesome. Thanks, Grandpa."

Grayson nodded, "Anytime…you girls okay with the dinner?"

Miranda nodded, but Elena just ignored him.

Chris was curious, but decided not to bring it up yet.

"Okay, good. Come on, bud," he placed his hand on Chris's shoulder, leading him toward the staircase.

* * *

Once upstairs, Grayson sat on the edge of the bed, pulling one of three boxes toward him, "This is the one with all of the journals. I'm not sure what the order is, but there were a good handful of them."

Chris nodded, opening another box, "Cool stuff."

Grayson smiled, "Yeah, Johnathan Gilbert was an inventor. He has all sorts of gadgets that have been collected over time."

Chris dug through the box, finding all sorts of odds and ends, "This is great, really."

They were silent for a moment, shifting through the stuff, until finally, Grayson cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, Chris."

Christian looked up at him, "For what?"

"For your life being crazy these past few days," he explained, "I talked to your mother…I know that Damon's back, that he knows about you, and that he's moving in."

Chris nodded, "Yeah, it's been a weird week."

"I'm surprised Valentina got involved. She was the one who told him where you lived, wasn't she? Apparently, the Salvatore's can't just leave things where they need to be."

Chris couldn't help but flinch a little. He liked his grandpa, he really did.  
He was closer to Grayson than Giuseppe, but Valentina was above them all.  
No one really got him the way his Grandmother did, though she claims it's because he was just like Damon growing up.

"I don't think she meant to cause trouble," he defended.  
"No, of course not," Grayson reasoned, "But either way, it would have been easier she and Giuseppe just stayed out of it."

"Grandfather wasn't a part of all of this. I don't even know if he knows that my dad found out about me," Chris told him.  
"He may not," Grayson admitted, "Hell, given that the man is either drunk or working, it's no surprise he has any idea of what's going on."

Chris's eyes narrowed.

He had never heard his grandfather attack the Salvatore's the way he was now, and could only assume it had more to do with Damon than them.  
"You don't like them, do you?" he stated.

Grayson didn't deny it, but added, "I respect their standing in this town. But that doesn't mean I agree with their choices. I can assume that they have something to do with Damon being back."  
Chris was almost annoyed, "Is it really so bad that he is?"

"You weren't here when he left the first time, Chris. Your mother deserves better in her life. So do you. That man has no business being back in Mystic Falls."  
Chris shook his head, "You really do hate him."  
"I hate what he's done," Grayson corrected.

Chris swallowed, "Then looking at me must drive you crazy. Being reminded constantly of him…how can you hate him so much about him, and not feel the same when you see me?"

"Chris, no," Grayson shook his head, "Don't think that. Damon has nothing to do with the relationship you and I have. I love you, Chris. You're my only grandchild, and it wouldn't matter who your father was, I'd love you the same...but I can't change the way I feel about Damon. And he had no right to barge into your life after being gone for so long. It's very irresponsible of your mother to think that he's going to just jump into being a father to you."

Chris blinked, "How do you know he won't?"  
Even to his own ears, he sounded a little defensive, so he wasn't very surprised when Grayson's eyebrow lifted.

"I just mean that he could," Chris edited, "He seems like he has good intentions."  
Grayson chuckled a little, "Son, the road to hell was paved with good intentions….but you could be right. And for your sake, and your mother's, I really hope you are."

"What do you mean?" Chris pressed, curious.

Grayson eyed him, "I'm just saying that sticking around wasn't exactly part of Damon's agenda in the past. I'd hate for you, or your mother to get close to him, just to have him leave again."  
"Mom trusts him," Chris observed.

"And look where that got her fifteen years ago…come on, Chris. You're a smart kid. Damon hasn't been in Mystic Falls for years. Just from what I've seen in the media, he's been sleeping his way through half the west coast, and getting drunk before most of his concerts. I'm just concerned that he's going to use you, and your mother while he's here, and then he's going to ditch."

"Use us how?" Chris demanded.

"He's already going to be staying with you, isn't he?" Grayson started, "Then imagine the publicity you could bring him….not to mention that it wouldn't be the first time he's used your mother as an easy lay."

"Grandpa," Chris complained.

"Just saying," Grayson insisted, "I just want you guys to be careful. You don't really know much about the man, and your mother is a love struck fool when it comes to him, always has been. She's going to need you to be the rational one, Chris. Don't let Damon use her. Keep your guard up."

Chris nodded, seeing his point.  
His mother already felt comfortable enough with Damon to move him in.  
And he knew from his online stalking how much of a playboy Damon had been over the past fifteen years.

And he wasn't going to let his mother be hurt again.  
No way.

"I'll be careful Grandpa. I promise. He's not going to hurt my Mom."

Grayson smiled kindly at him, clapping his shoulder, "That's my boy."

* * *

**Aaaand let the Grayson bashing begin! Lol.**

**So what did you guys think about the confrontation?  
Is Grayson right to assume that Elena is being to quick to let Damon back in her life?  
What about Chris? Do you think that he will be able to work out his relationship with Damon while these doubts still plague him?**

**Should we sacrifice Grayson on an alter of fire? lol.**

**Haha okay, well reveiw and let me know what you think!**


	13. Chapter 13

**You guys are awesome!  
**

**Loved the reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

As soon as Elena texted him, letting him know that she and Chris were back home from her parent's house, Damon got in his car, which now held his two suitcases, and drove over.

Valentina had been thrilled that things had worked out this way, and had insisted that he go as soon as possible, even chiding him for waiting around to tell her.  
"They invented the cell phone for a reason, Damon!" she'd reprimanded.

He shook his head, but man had he missed that woman.

However, when he had texted Elena, asking if now would be a "good time", she had been at her parents, getting something for Chris's school project.

Trying to win whatever brownie points he could, Damon had immediately went to Giuseppe, asking if he could borrow the family archives for Chris to use.  
Those were also in his back seat.

Finally, he was pulling into Elena's driveway.

It was dark outside, but the lights on inside the house illuminated the walk way enough for him to see his feet, and he managed to get both suitcases and the box of archives in one setting.

He sat them down, knocking.

Seconds later, Elena opened the door, a gentle smile on her face.

"You did make it."

He smirked, "Barely…but I come bearing gifts."

He handed her the box, and took note of Chris on the couch, old books and tons of papers surrounding him.  
"Great," Elena nodded, looking down at the archives, "We were just working on this, actually."  
She moved so he could step inside, and she used her foot to shut the door, before setting the box down by Chris.

"What are these?" he asked.

Damon shrugged, "Just some things your grandfather had collecting dust."  
Chris raised a brow.

Damon sighed, "Your mom told me about your project, so I figured it couldn't hurt to bring a little extra family data. These are some of the Salvatore archives, dating back to the 1800's."  
"Hmh," Chris looked over them, "Okay, thanks."

Damon nodded.

"So," Elena stated, "Uh, if you follow me, I'll show you where to put your stuff."

Damon swallowed, giving a slight nod of his head, and Elena turned toward the hall.

Picking up his two suitcases, he stepped into place behind her.

He wasn't surprised to find that her room was simple and neat.  
Everything in its place.

He glanced at the pictures she had on her dresser, and smiled.  
Chris was in most of them, at different ages.  
It was sort of incredible.

"You can hang anything you need in here," Elena broke his concentration, "I usually don't use part of the closet, so I think you'll have enough room."  
She raised up to push aside any lingering belongings, and for a second, he couldn't help but do a sweep over of her body.

Her yoga pants and camisole were practically a calling card for his male parts, but he kept himself in check.  
Just friends, he reminded himself.  
But damn, did she look better than ever.

Actually she had always been even sexier like this.  
Not dolled up for events, but laid back, hair pulled up in a loose bun, ready for bed.  
She looked comfortable.

Hell, she looked _edible_.

He took a deep breath, because this was so not the time for those kinds of thoughts. He was here for Chris. His son.  
That is what he should be focusing on.

"This will be perfect," he assured her.  
She nodded, "Okay good. Do you need help unpacking?"  
He glanced at his baggage and chuckled, "Actually, I think I can handle it."  
She smiled brilliantly, "Just trying to be polite."  
"I appreciate it," he answered, "Really…and I appreciate all of this. You didn't have to let me stay here."

She grew serious, nodding, "I know. Just don't make me regret that I did."  
He gave her a small smile, "I'm going to do everything to keep that from happening."  
She seemed to accept this, "I'll hold you to that…and I'll let you get situated. When you're done, you can join us, if you want."  
He smiled, "Just give me five minutes."

* * *

Elena had to take a few deep breaths before going back into the living room with Chris.  
Something about Damon's smile still had her going weak in the knees.  
But it was worse now.

As a teenager, Damon had always had a nice body.  
As a man, he was mouthwatering.  
His muscles were thick under his simple black T-shirt, and those dark-wash jeans did amazing things to his backside.

She bit her lip, trying to force away the memory of her youth...all the nights she had spent beneath that man, forgetting her own name as pleasure overcame her.

But now the image was altered.  
Filled with lustful thoughts of this older Damon…this more experienced Damon.  
She could only imagine what a night with him would be like now.

She sighed.

Imagining was all she would be doing, because there were more important things at play than her nonexistent sex life.  
She had a child to think about.  
She shook her head.

"Mom," Chris looked at her, "You okay?"

She blinked a few times, "What? Uh, yeah, yeah I'm fine."  
She forced a smile and sat down, pulling one of the journals into her lap.

"Sorry, where were we?"  
He started talking about the project, and somehow, she made herself pay attention.

True to his word, a few minutes later, Damon came into the room.  
"How's it going?" He asked.  
Chris shrugged, "It's a lot of information. But I'll be able to do the report easily."  
Damon nodded, "That's good."

Chris looked at Elena then, "Can I just leave the journals and everything in here?"  
She nodded, "Yeah, just put them all in the box, and we can put it against the wall."  
Chris stood, doing as she said, "I think I'm done for tonight. It's not due until next week anyway. I'm gonna go to bed."  
Elena gave him a nod, "Okay that's fine, we can sort through later."

Chris picked up his papers and placed them in his folders, then moved to take it to his room.

Elena couldn't help but notice that he hadn't really glanced at Damon once.  
Apparently, she wasn't imagining it, because Damon's brows furrowed, his gaze following Chris.

She sighed, "He'll come around."  
Damon looked at her, "You're sure he's okay with this?"  
She nodded, "He said he was. But it's still a big change. I think we're all going to need some time."

He accepted this, and sighed, "So is there anything I can do?"  
Elena inclined her head toward the couch against the wall, "We still need to fold that out for you to sleep on."

He nodded, and the walked over to it.  
"You just pulled up on the bar," she instructed, removing the cushions.

Damon followed her lead, and the bed unfolded from the couch.

"I'll get you some sheets, and a pillow," she told him.  
"Thanks."

She walked over to the linen closet, and grabbed a few sheets, and a heavier blanket.  
It was still pretty chilly outside.  
The house had a small fireplace, but she didn't ever take the time to use it, so it was thick blankets and central heat for the colder months.

"These okay?" she asked, showing him.  
"Fine," he promised, "I don't need much."  
She chuckled, "Yeah right. Don't all famous singers live in big houses with king sized beds?"  
He smirked, "I imagine some do. I however, pay an overpriced rent on a one bedroom apartment in downtown L.A. And my bed is full, not king."

She raised a brow, "Coming from the boy who had a four poster king bed as a teenager, I'm a little surprised."  
Damon shrugged, "I never really saw the point in overdoing myself. Just because I had the money didn't mean I had to waste it on pointless shit."

"Reasonable enough", she decided, "Though I think I would have at least upgraded to a queen."

He smiled as they finished placing the blankets on the fold out mattress.  
"Well, let's just say my apartment was pretty cozy too. Not sure a queen would have fit."

Elena smirked, shaking her head, throwing the pillow at the top, "Okay all done."  
She expected him to nod, or say thank you, but instead he just fell back onto it, his body taking up nearly the entire thing.

"This is good," he stated, his eyes closing.  
She smiled, "You're laying the wrong way."  
His head shook, "Nope, this is good."  
She laughed now, "Your feet are touching the floor."

He opened an eye, "Don't judge me."  
She shook her head, "Wouldn't dream of it."

He raised a brow, "It actually isn't too bad. You should try this."  
She chuckled, "Nope, I have my own bed waiting for me."

She began to walk past him, heading toward said bed, when she felt an arm wrap around her.

With a tug, she was falling backwards, landing next to him on the makeshift bed, her own feet hanging off.  
"No fair, my back was turned," she accused.  
He grinned, turning on his side so he was leaning over her a bit, "I never agreed to play fair. But it got you down here, didn't it?"

She fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him, and instead, just relaxed.  
He was right.

It really wasn't half bad, laying sideways across a fake mattress.  
Could be worse.

Damon sighed, rolling out straight next to her.  
It was lucky that she was so small, or they never would have both fit.

But even so, she could feel the line of his side pressing into her own…like that wasn't distracting.  
"Do you think we're doing the right thing?" he asked.  
Elena turned her head to look at him, "What do you mean?"

"Me being here? Are you sure we aren't asking too much of him, to be okay with this?"  
Elena sighed, "I think it's going to be difficult, no matter how long we wait. I think this needs to happen. Be it now, or in a few years. Chris will be fine."  
Damon nodded, his face turning to her.

Their gazes met, and in that moment, it wasn't the sexual tension she felt.  
It was understanding.

She and Damon were on the same page with this.  
Unsure, a little lost, and hoping for the best.  
For the first time since Chris was born, she felt completely understood.  
Maybe there was a common ground in being parents of the same child.

The intensity washed over her as she stared into the same blue eyes that had haunted her for the past fifteen years, and her own eyes started to sting.  
She didn't want to cry.  
Not here, not now, not in front of Damon. But there was nothing she could do.

For the first time in so long, she wasn't alone.  
Wasn't alone in her worrying, wasn't alone in her fears…at least not where Chris was concerned.  
The tears leaked down her cheeks now.

"Damon-," she wanted to put her feelings into words, but they didn't come to her.  
He just smiled, a little sadly, and used his thumb to wipe the tear away, as he cupped her cheek.

"I know, sweetheart, I know."

* * *

**Aaaand that's where we end it for now!**

**I really can't wait to hear what you guys think! :)**

**Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Woo! Such great reviews! And we got past the 200 mark! You guys are amazing, seriously!**

**Okay, just saying, I loved writing the ending scene to that last chapter, and I loved a few scenes in this chapter as well!  
****I'm so excited about the family stuff, and the upcoming tension that will grow between Damon and Elena!  
****Things will be very up and down, sometimes it may move fast, and other times slug by, but it's all part of the developing process to get this family to where they need to be.**

**Again, thanks so much for all the support, and I hope ya'll enjoy!**

* * *

Damon had the next morning planned out.  
He knew that Elena wasn't planning on going into the office, and he planned on letting her sleep.  
He also knew, thanks to his previous stay, that Tyler came for Chris around 7:50, meaning Elena had to wake him up about seven each morning.

So Damon set his alarm for six.

When it went off, waking him up, he was quick to hit the silencer, praying it didn't affect Elena or Chris.  
Shaking off the sleep, he blinked a few times.  
It was still dark outside, but the slight glow told him that the sun would be rising soon enough.

He stood, picked up the blankets and pillow, and folded them, before folding the bed up, and putting the cushions back in place.  
He went into the hallway bathroom then, and washed his face.

Once he was done, he made his way back into the living room, searching for the jeans he'd kicked off last night.  
Usually he just slept nude, but he'd managed to keep at least a shirt and underwear on last night, just in case Christian or Elena had to pass by him to go to the kitchen.

He slid the pants into place, then checked his phone.  
Still plenty of time.

Quietly, he moved down the hall, and opened the door to Elena's room.  
He didn't want to disrespect her privacy, but he had the feeling that the second her alarm went off, she'd be up for the day.  
But she deserved to sleep in, and besides, he wanted this morning with Chris.

His eyes adjusted to the darker room, the lit sky outside, coming in from the windows, casted a blue glow over everything.  
He made Elena out, curled up in the middle of her bed, facing him.

He smiled a little.

Her face was relaxed, and she looked peaceful. Her dark hair splayed across her pillow, and her hands rested under her cheek.  
She was beautiful, even while unconscious.

Fighting the distraction that she was offering, he grabbed her phone.  
It took him only a second to find the alarm and to turn it off.  
He placed it back, and sighed, looking back at his ex.

If he let himself dream, he could imagine an everyday life like this.  
One where he would wake up with Elena in his arms, every morning, and would kiss her forehead as he untangled himself from the sheets.  
Then he'd go down the hall, wake up Chris for school, and start breakfast.  
Chris would come in and eat over small talk, then Elena would follow, getting ready for work.  
He'd wrap an arm around her, and make her take the time to feed herself.  
Then Chris would leave for school, and Elena would leave for work.

He liked to think that in this alternate reality, he was still doing what he loved.  
Writing and playing his music, with the support of his fans and family.  
He'd drive up to the studio, get the months agenda, and start working on his sounds.  
He'd struggle some, take it home that afternoon, where Elena would help him work out the kinks.  
The he would let her play it while he cooked their dinner, or maybe he would play it for Chris, while Elena cooked.

Either way, he liked the picture of this fantasy world.  
It was everything he never knew he wanted, just outside of his reach.

Elena was still sound asleep, so he couldn't help but lift his finger, and place it on her cheek.  
He stroked her face, wishing that he hadn't been such an idiot all those years ago.  
But he couldn't change the past.

Only what was happening now.  
With that in mind, he left her to her dreams, making his way toward the kitchen to start breakfast for his son.

* * *

Chris jolted awake as the hand on his shoulder shook him.  
He groaned.

"What time is it?"  
"Time for you to wake up," a deep voice answered, and he opened his eyes to see Damon standing there.

He blinked a few times, the shock wearing off as his memory returned.

Right. Damon was supposed to be here.  
He lived here now.

"Where's mom?" Chris managed, sitting up.  
"Sleeping," Damon answered, "I didn't want to wake her if we didn't have to."  
Chris nodded, "Okay."

He got up then, moving to his closet to dig for a shirt.  
Damon was still standing by his bed, and he sort of wished that he'd go away.  
He had too many thoughts to sort out when it came to that man, and at the moment, his looming presence wasn't helping.

"Did you need something?" Chris shot, finally just picking one of his band T-shirts, and pulled it over his head.  
Damon didn't answer immediately, so Chris turned.  
His father took a few steps closer.

"Are you alright?" he asked when he finally spoke.  
Chris's eyebrows pulled together, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, I don't know, Chris. Maybe something to do with me being here?" Damon stated, "Last night you seemed kind of pissed, and your attitude hasn't changed much this morning. Now, I don't expect you to immediately accept me, but I thought we could be past this?"

Chris stared at him, the copy of his own eyes looking back.  
It wasn't like he wanted to be mad at Damon, but his grandpa was right.  
Damon could hurt Elena again.  
And if it came down between the two, Chris would always choose his mother.

But that wasn't really something he wanted to get into.  
Because he wasn't really pissed…just being cautious.  
If Damon's intentions were anything but what he had said, Chris was going to make him leave.

But then again, he'd never know if he didn't at least give the guy a chance.  
He sighed.

"I'm not pissed, Damon," he said, "But like you said, it's not like you can stay around for a few hours and expect me to suddenly like you."  
Damon nodded, "I know. That's why we are doing this. I'm willing to stay for as long as it takes."  
Chris scoffed a little, grabbing a pair of jeans from the floor, and slid them over his boxers, "What about your busy rock star life?"  
|His father smirked a little, "I'd hardly call myself a rock star. But it can wait. This, us, _you_…is much more important."

He raised a brow, "Why? You don't even know me."  
Exactly," Damon explained, "But I want to."  
"Why?" he pressed, remembering what Grayson had said about the possibility of Damon using them.

"Why?" Damon seemed confused by the inquiry, "Because you're my son, Christian. And I can't help that I didn't know that before this week, but I am sorry. I'm sorry that I missed so much, and that I wasn't able to be here for you."

Chris swallowed.  
Damon certainly didn't sound like he wanted to use him.  
He sounded…hurt. Like he really did regret the lost time as much as Chris did.

But it was partially his own fault.  
Christian lifted his gaze, focusing on the man.

"You never should have left."

Damon nodded, slowly, "You think I don't know that? It would have never happened if I had known about you, I swear."  
Chris shook his head, "It shouldn't have happened anyway. Whether my mom was pregnant or not. You hurt her when you left."

His father didn't waver, even though his words had made him flinch.

"I never meant to hurt her, Chris. I loved your mother. If you're going to believe anything, believe that."  
"Then how could you go?" Chris demanded.

Damon sighed, "Because I was young, and stupid. I let other people dictate my choices, and convinced myself that I was doing Elena a favor by leaving. But I'm not trying to make excuses. I didn't have to leave. I know that. But I did, and I have to live with the consequences of that choice. I'm just sorry that you were affected by my idiocy. But I want to do better by you, Chris. I want to try to make it up to you, in any way I can. You don't have to like me…but I'm only asking for a chance. I know I don't deserve it…but I want to be here for you now, if you'll let me."

Chris swallowed back a wave of emotion threatening to spill out.  
When did the situation get so complex?

In his deepest desire, he knew he wanted this. He wanted this to work out…for Damon to fit into their lives, and become the father he never had. He wanted to get to know him, be close to him…talk to him about all the things that Elena just wouldn't get, no matter how hard she tried.  
And he wanted his parents together.

He wanted a family, and a sense of stability and home.  
But that was wishful thinking…a child's dream.  
He couldn't risk hoping right now.

Damon's light chuckle pulled him from his monologue.  
"Your mother is the same way," he stated.

"What are you talking about?" Chris inquired.

Damon smiled a little, "The way your thoughts take over. Everything you feel flashes across your face as you battle with yourself. Elena use to do the same thing."  
"She still does," he answered, realizing it was true.  
He could always tell what his mother's answer was going to be before she gave it, just from her expressions.

He found it odd that Damon would remember such a think after so long.

But then he thought of April.  
Maybe he could understand it after all.

It would take a long time for him to forget everything about her…but maybe that's just what happens when you love someone.  
You remember pointless, random shit about them.

The thought of April had his mind turning.  
She would be pissed at him if she heard his thoughts about Damon.

She would insist on him giving the man a chance, because that was just the kind of person she was.  
Loving, forgiving, and good.  
The kind of person he could only hope to be.

He sighed, "If I agree to this…trial father/son relationship thing between us, will you swear to leave if I ask you to? If it doesn't…work?"  
Damon immediately nodded, "I'll do whatever it is you want me to, Chris. As long as you're willing to give this a shot."

Chris considered this, "I'm willing to see where it goes. And to not be…pissy about it."  
Damon smirked, "Good enough for me."  
"Then I guess this could work."  
Damon nodded, "It can if we want it to."

Chris picked up his phone, checking the time, "Well, we can finish this later. I need to hurry if I'm going to catch my ride and still manage to cram something down my throat."  
Damon chuckled, "Go finish getting ready. I got breakfast taken care of."

Chris raised a brow, impressed, "Omelets?"  
Not that he'd ever admit it out loud, but the breakfast Damon had made the last time he stayed over had been amazing.  
He was definitely better than Elena when it came to kitchen skills.

"Not exactly," Damon answered, "Just do what you need to do. Your plate will be waiting when you're done."  
Nodding, Chris walked past him, going into the bathroom across the hall.

* * *

Elena woke up suddenly, chills down her back.

That had been a weird dream that was almost too vivid for her liking.  
Shaking her head, she pulled back her blanket.

What time was it?  
She reached over, picking up her phone.  
7:40  
Shit! She was supposed to have Chris up a little under an hour ago!

Jumping to her feet, she ran a hand through her hair, hurrying down the hall.  
But Chris's door was open, the room empty.

Then suddenly, laughter sounded from the other end of the house, and tiredly, she made her way toward it.

"You seriously did it?" Chris was asking, as she came around the corner.  
"Hell yeah, I did it," Damon grinned, "And Alaric hasn't challenged me to anything since."  
"That's awesome," Chris smirked, spinning the fork in his hand on the empty plate in front of him.

Elena didn't want to interrupt, but when Damon grabbed the plate, and Chris stood, she figured they were about done.

"Good morning," she stated, making them aware of her presence.  
Chris was putting his back pack on his shoulder, but glanced over, "Morning, Mom."  
She eyed them accusingly, "Any reason my alarm didn't go off this morning?"

Damon smirked, shutting the dish washer, "Didn't think you'd mind a few extra hours of sleep."  
She shook her head, "I wouldn't have, but I was supposed to get Chris up and-"

"Mom, I'm up," Chris pointed out, "It's fine, really…you should go back to bed."  
She shook her head, "No it's fine, I'm up."

Damon motioned toward the counter, "There's coffee in the pot."  
She nodded, making her way to it.  
Chris reached up and grabbed a mug for her.

"Thanks," she told them, pouring herself some of the liquid caffeine.  
"Damon made breakfast, too," Chris told her, "It's pretty good."  
"Yeah?"

She looked over at Damon who smirked, "I can't believe you've never given this kid an explosion stack."  
Her mouth hung open momentarily, "You made them?"

He grinned, nodding.  
"But, we invented that recipe so long ago…"  
"It's always been one of my favorites," he explained, grabbing a clean plate, and putting a few of the special pancakes on there.

She shook her head as he handed it to her.

One weekend, during Damon's senior year, Elena had told her parents she was staying with Caroline, and Damon had told his that he was staying with Enzo, resulting in the two of them having the entire weekend to themselves.  
So they had driven up the road, to the Gilbert's family lake house.

That Saturday morning, they'd realized that there were odds and ends of groceries, but nothing that really went together for breakfast, so they had experimented.  
They'd mixed eggs, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and god knew what else, into a large bowl, and beat it into a batter, which they had preceded to make pancakes from.

As Damon poured, Elena got the idea to make them flavorful, and had thrown in a mix of blueberries, strawberries, and chocolate chips.  
Then, once they were done, they'd found that there was no syrup, so they'd coated the creation in peanut butter, and had called it the Explosion Stack.  
And it was still one of the best things she'd ever eaten.

Looking down at the stack in front of her, she couldn't help but smile.  
"I can't believe you remembered the ingredients," she told him, taking a seat.  
"It took me a while to figure out what all we'd added," he admitted, "But eventually it came together. Peanut butter?"

He held the jar out to her, and she chuckled, "Is there any other way to go with the explosion stack?"  
He shook his head, "None what so ever."

Christian eyed them, "Wait, you guys made this? From scratch?"  
Damon smirked, "More like from the bare minimum. We just threw in anything that sounded good."  
"And it worked?" He seemed amused.  
"Better than it should have," Elena admitted, as a honk sounded from outside, "Is that Tyler?"

Chris nodded, "It's about that time."  
He leaned over hugging her before glancing between her and Damon, "So, uh, see you after school."

They nodded at him, and he turned to the door, hurrying out, leaving Elena alone with Damon.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked!  
And I promise, there will be plenty of Delena coming up! :)**

**So what did you guys think about Damon's talk with Chris?  
His reflection on what his life could have been like?  
Will the flash backs of their relationship make Elena more open to starting a new one?**

**What should happen next?**

**Please, please, review with ideas or comments!**

**Muahh! Love you all :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**You guys have been so lovely and supportive! Thank you so much!**

**I'm sorry to say that the updates may slow down a little, because I am trying to work a little more on Love in Shackles.  
Again, sorry!**

**But I'll do what i can :)**

**Hope ya'll enjoy!**

* * *

Damon looked out the window above the sink, and watched as Chris ran to the car that had pulled up near the drive.  
He said something to the driver, through the window, then got in.

They drove off seconds later.

"He seemed better," Elena commented behind him, and he turned, focusing back on her.

"Chris?"

She nodded, taking a bite of her pancakes, and moaned a little.

The sound shot straight to his groin, but he ignored it, forcing himself to focus on her words.

"These are still amazing," she commented.

He smiled, "Thanks."

She took another bite, before addressing the other matter again, "You said something to him, didn't you?"

Damon moved, refilling his coffee cup, "I talked to him after I woke him up."

"And?" Elena pressed.

"And I think we have a long road ahead, but he's willing to walk it."

She smiled, looking down at her food, "I was hoping he'd come around."

Damon nodded, taking a sip of his coffee, and sat it down on the counter that he then leaned against, "You were right. He's a good kid, Elena. He's just hesitant, and who could blame him?"

She nodded, and he watched as guilt colored her face.

Finally she sighed, "I never should have kept him away from you…I was selfish. I just thought that I-," she swallowed, "I just want to do what's right for Chris, no matter what anyone else says. And I think having you here is going to be good for him."

"I think it's going to be good for us both," Damon admitted, "These past few years…I've just felt a little lost, to be honest. Like I have no idea what I'm doing with my life. Like I was somehow missing the point…until the other day."

She nodded, "I imagine it was a bit of a change."

He huffed, "Yeah, you can definitely say that. At first, I didn't know what to think. It was like I didn't even have control of my body. I was too busy processing that I actually had a son."  
Elena's brown eyes were settled, encouraging him.

"It was like I suddenly had a flash of Giuseppe, and all the things he'd missed in mine and Stefan's life…and it hurt to think that I'd done the same to Chris, purposely or not…God, I missed so much, Elena. So much of his life…and I can't go back and fix that."

He took another sip of the coffee, "I wanted to be angry too, at first. At you, for not telling me, at my parents, Stefan…all of them for keeping it a secret."

Elena sighed, "Damon, I-"

"No," he cut her off, "It's okay. I can understand why you felt like you needed to, and you did an amazing job by yourself."

"That doesn't change the fact that I hid the truth from you," she reasoned, "You _should _be mad at me."

Damon shook his head, "I can't. I'm angry that I wasn't here, but it was just as much my fault as yours. I didn't have to leave. That was a choice that I made."

She was shaking her head now, "My father's an ass."

Damon couldn't really disagree, but, "I'm sure he thought he was looking out for you."  
"Even so," she stated, finishing the last of her plate, "He had no right."

Damon grabbed the dish from her, placing it in the sink, "No, he didn't. And I'm pissed at him for it. If he hadn't of told me all of those things, I never would have let them affect me so much. But still, he didn't force me to leave. And that guilt is all mine."

She stood up, walking around so that she stood in front of him, "It's our guilt Damon. We both screwed up."

"But I got to do what I wanted," he stated, "I didn't have to give up my dreams. I got the career I wanted, and got out of this town. You didn't."

She shook her head, "No, I didn't…but I got our son. I got his childhood, his past…things that can never be recovered.

Damon watched as tears once again filled Elena's eyes, "I'm so sorry," she whispered.

He swallowed, and reached out for her.

She fell into his arms easily, and he pulled her tight against him, letting her use him for the comfort she so desperately needed.  
Her arms slipped around him, tightening as her sobs increased.  
He felt her tears through the shirt on his shoulder, but didn't mind.  
She needed this, hell, _he_ needed this.

He could imagine her years were just as vast as his had been, both stuck in an endless cycle, just existing in their lives.  
He stroked her hair, holding her trembling body, whispering words of comfort into her ear.

After a few minutes, she calmed down, gaining control, but still he held her.  
It wasn't until she leaned away slightly that he loosened his grip.  
She took a step back, as if being as close as she was to him was suddenly uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry about that," she told him, wiping her eyes, "I don't break down like that…I can't."

He ran a finger under her chin, lifting her gaze to his, "Sometimes, you just have to," he reasoned.  
She shook her head, "No, I don't. Because it's a weakness that I can't afford to have."

He let his hands slip, to grip the back her neck, "But I'm here now."  
She swallowed, "That doesn't mean it's not a weakness."

He offered her a smile, "No…it just means that you don't have to be so strong all the time."  
Her voice was a shaking whisper, "But actually, I do."

He held her gaze, "Elena, you don't have to carry this weight alone anymore."  
Her eyes closed at his words, and he smiled, "You can let go."

She blinked her doe eyes clear, "I can't…not yet. I've been doing it for so long, I'm not sure I even know how to share this."  
He brushed back her hair, "You'll figure it out…and in time, you'll see that you can trust me."

"I want to," she admitted, "I want this to work."  
"Me too," he assured her, "But enough with the heavy. We need to find something relaxing to do, let us just get used to being around each other again."

She sighed, "Yeah, that's a good idea."  
"Any suggestions?" he asked, dropping his hand from her.

She thought for a moment, then a light grin lifted her lips, "I know that you didn't get to be here when Chris was little, but I have pictures, home videos, albums…everything, up in the closet, if you maybe wanted to look through them?"

He smiled encouragingly, "Of course. That sounds perfect."  
Nodding she motioned toward the room, "Follow me, then."

* * *

They walked down the hall, into her bedroom, where she pulled open the door to the closet he'd placed his things in last night.

"It's the box in the far corner up there," she told him pointing, "Will you grab it?"  
He nodded, moving around her to see where she was pointing.

It was a bigger box, but he had no trouble sliding it closer, before pulling it down.  
"I tried to keep everything," she admitted, "And not just pictures. School projects, mother's day cards, you name it."

Damon chuckled a little as she sat on the bed with the box and began opening it.  
He sat across from her.

The top folds lifted as she untucked them, and pulled the top open, revealing, indeed, a little bit of everything.  
Papers of different colors layered the top, and he reached for them.

Home-made Christmas decorations, finger paintings, cards made of construction paper…the list went on.  
Elena began lifting things out herself.

"Ah, here," she stated, handing him an album, "These are all from his first year of school."  
Damon took it, and opened to the first page of pictures.

The first was of Chris, obviously as a young child, standing proudly with some stranger, who Damon guessed was his teacher.

In the next one, Elena, who must have been in her early twenties, was crouching down next to him, her arm wrapped around the boy, who was smiling happily.  
Valentina was in the next one, with a similar pose.

"My mom was there?" he inquired.

Elena leaned over, glancing at the picture he was looking at, and nodded, "Yeah, she came with me on his first day. She adores Chris, and also thought someone should be there to take the pictures."

Like _he_ should have been, he thought to himself, guilt swarming his stomach again.  
He made a mental note to thank Valentina later.

Elena stood, and pushed the box further up on the bed, so she could take a seat next to Damon.  
He let her pull the album a little closer to herself, so they could both look.

"He was really good that day," she told him, as he looked over the other pictures, "Most of the children cry when their parents leave, but he was too excited to worry much about me. He loved his class, and his teacher."

Damon flipped the next few pages, different events playing out, including a Christmas party the class had, a Play Day on the school's football field, where the children played in races and other Olympic type games, and even a shot of Chris standing by the Mystic Falls Elementary School sign.

He settled on one picture that he really liked.

It was obviously night time, at a football game. The shot had been taken from a side angle, in the bleachers.  
Elena was looking off toward the field, a smile on her face, and Chris was in her lap, facing the game, but he was leaned back, asleep on her shoulder.  
The serenity of the moment had been captured perfectly.

He swallowed, "These are amazing, Elena."  
She must have heard the thickness in his voice, because she smiled at him, "Well we still have plenty to go through, so don't go getting all emotional on me yet."  
He chuckled at her teasing tone, "Give me the next one."

* * *

Two hours later, they had gone through nearly the entire box, having analyzed all the photos carefully.

Damon was overwhelmed by the full extent of everything he hadn't gotten to be a part of.  
It was so much more than just the school events.

It was family vacations, Chris's summers learning to swim, or ride bikes, it was missing Chris's first baseball game, and his scraped knees he'd gotten just being a boy, playing outside.

It was racecar themed birthday parties, shaky steps, and first words.  
It was an entire era of his son's life.  
Suddenly, he was hating himself a lot more than Chris ever could.

But Elena seemed to catch on, "There's nothing we can do about it now, Damon."  
He nodded, "Doesn't change the wanting to, though."

"Oh, believe me, I know," she assured him, "But it doesn't matter either way. The past is the past."  
"The past is all of Chris's life," he told her, looking up to meet her eyes, "I missed so much Elena. And I can never get that back…I can never make up all of this," he motioned to the scatterings around them.

She sighed, "I know…and I'm sorry, okay, I am…but you haven't missed out on everything. Christian is still young, and he still needs you to be a part of his life. All of this is important, of course, but so is his prom, his first car, high school sports, his girlfriends, going through college applications, his graduation day. There is still so much ahead, and you can be here for it. It's not too late."

Damon nodded, taking in her words, "You're right. I need to focus on what I can do now, and not what I missed back then."  
Elena looked up at him through her lashes, "I think it's okay to feel the loss of those things. They are a big part of Chris's life. Just don't let the past outweigh what you can experience now."

"Yeah, I know," he offered her a small smile, "It's just a lot to take in."  
She nodded, "It'll get easier."

He noticed that she winced after she said this.

"You okay?"  
Her eyebrows furrowed, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a headache. I felt kind of off after I laid down last night, and it didn't really go away this morning."  
Damon pursed his lips, "Well, it is flu season."  
She shook her head, "Oh god, don't say that. I don't need to be getting sick."  
He chuckled, "Well, go take some pain killers, I'm sure it'll clear up."  
"Yeah, you're right," she agreed, standing, "I'll be right back."

She walked out of the room, and he turned back to the box, reaching to one of the last albums.

It was pastel, with Christian James Salvatore embroidered on the front.  
A baby book then?

He opened it, and smiled at the first set of pictures.  
Elena's maternity photos.  
He was stunned by the awe that overcame him.

She looked the same as she had the day he left, only now her stomach was swollen, rounded, making her dress protrude out.  
Her arms were wrapped around the bump, cradling it as she smiled down at it.  
She was so beautiful.

He wished so badly that he could have seen her that way, radiantly happy, round with his child.  
He glanced carefully at each picture, amazed at how her body changed, to grow this baby.

A few pages in, the pictures changed to ones at the hospital.  
Elena, hooked up to an IV, sitting at a slant on the bed, Caroline next to her.

Some with her and different family members, and finally, a picture of Chris, was the nurse was cleaning him.  
Then a picture of Elena first holding him.

Damon couldn't take his eyes off of the pages as he turned them.

Even as a newborn, Chris had startling blue eyes and a head of dark hair.  
There were pictures of his nursery, and tons of Elena holding him.  
The last picture of the album was Chris's first birthday party.

He was covered all over with chocolate cake, and had icing all over his hands, but his little grin was one of excitement.  
Damon smiled sadly.

This is what he should have been doing all of his life, taking adorable pictures of his child, and the amazing woman who'd carried him.  
Not finding temporary comfort in the arms of nameless strangers as he drunk himself through each show.

He made a mental promise to himself.  
He was going to make this work, no matter what it took, because he wanted this.

His family, this life…it's what he had always wanted, without realizing it.

And now, he could have it.

He only had to play his cards right.  
Be a father to Chris, the best he could, and then win Elena's trust again.

Luckily, he had all the time in the world to do so.

* * *

**I hope you guys liked this!**

**Please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Again, so grateful for the reviews!**

**Okay, so a lot of you were concerned about the headache thing, lol.  
DON'T be!  
Elena is fine! It is literally just a headache.  
Very common, people get them all the time. Doesn't mean she is dying. Just that she, well, has a headache, lol.  
It plays into the story soon though.**

**But thanks for the concern!**

**Hope you guys like!**

* * *

It had been a few hours since she had taken the Tylenol, yet Elena's head was still pounding.  
She sighed, closing her computer.  
Damon, who had been sitting in a chair, going through the Gilbert journals, looking of things of interest for Chris, noticed this, and glanced over at her.

She however, just continued to spread out on the couch.  
"You okay?" he questioned.  
She shrugged, "Just a headache."  
"I thought it went away?" he inquired.  
"Me too," she chuckled, "But it came back with a vengeance."

"I can get you some more medicine?" Damon offered, and she shook her head, "No that's okay, thanks. I think I just need to rest a little."  
Apparently, he agreed, "I tried to let you sleep in this morning."

She nodded, "Yeah, nightmare woke me up."  
"Nightmare," he questioned, "What about?"

She shrugged, "The usual. Me completely failing as a parent and Chris becoming screwed up because of it."  
Damon sighed, "I'm beginning to see how that could be a legit fear."

"No kidding," she muttered, "And it's one of those things that never goes away."  
She glanced back at him, over her shoulder, "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

He raised a brow, "Is there any way to really be ready for something like this?"

She considered this, "No, I guess not."

Before he could comment his phone began to buzz, the noise causing her head to pound worse.

"Ugh, make it stop," she demanded, and he chuckled, pulling it out of his pocket.  
"Sorry, it's Mom."

She closed her eyes as he answered.

"Mom," he addressed.

Elena could hear Valentina's voice echoing through the speaker, talking quickly.  
After a moment Damon responded, "Yeah, I can ask…sure…yep, I'll call you back…alright, love you too. Uhhu, bye."

Elena peaked an eye open as he closed the phone, "Everything okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah. She was just wanting to know if we wanted to come to dinner."  
Elena sat up, "All three of us?"

Again, he nodded.  
She considered this, "I'm sure Chris won't mind seeing Val."  
He gave her a look of concern, "You sure you're feeling up to it?"  
She shrugged.

Even if she wasn't feeling very well, it would be good for her to do something that wasn't work or cleaning her house.  
Seriously, she needed to get out more.

"I'll be fine. I can take another pill before we go, besides, I know better than to tell your mother no."  
He chuckled a little, "You're telling me. So you want to go?"

She gave him a smile, "Sure. Chris will be home a little after three. We can go then."  
"Alright."

She sat up, sighing, "So did you find anything?"  
"A few points of interest," he admitted, "Did you know that our ancestors hated each other?"

A laugh escaped her lips, "What makes you say that?"  
"Johnathan Gilbert wrote about it," he held up the journal he was looking at.

She stood, and made her way over to the chair he was sitting in.  
"Are you serious? Where?"

He held up the pages, and she took the journal, beginning to read.

As she did so, she felt Damon's hand slide along her waist pulling her down.  
Relaxing, she let him pull her onto his lap, so she could read more comfortably, even though his arm, which supported her back, distracted her a little.

Hell, just being this close to him was distracting.  
But she didn't want him to know just how much it affected her. Especially something so simple.

She focused on the words in front of her.  
Johnathan Gilbert's entry spoke of the Salvatore's arrogance, and how they believed they ran the town, detailing into an interesting argument he'd had with Tobias Fell about it.

She flipped through the pages, surprised at the number of times hateful words toward Damon's family was spouted.  
"Damn," she shook her head, "This is crazy."

Damon nodded, "It goes through most of these, back to when the families first arrived in Mystic Falls."  
She looked down at him, "Maybe that explains why our fathers never really got along. It's a wonder that you and I actually got together."

He smirked, "It was very Shakespeare of us."  
She smiled, before quoting, "For never was a story of more woe…"  
His grin faltered a little, "Woe indeed."

She saw the guilt flood his face, and knew immediately that he was once again hating on himself for leaving.

They were both going to have to let go of that guilt, if they had any chance of moving forward.  
She sat the journal down on the coffee table, before turning in his arms, "Damon, it's over, okay? The mistakes we made that brought us here are done. We can't keep blaming ourselves for the choices we made back then."

He met her gaze, "It may have started back then, Elena, but the choice has been ours for all these years. You could have found a way to tell me about Christian…and I could have come home years ago. But we didn't, and Chris is the one that has to pay the most for it."

"It's not fair," she agreed, "But we can't change what we did or didn't do. Only what we are going to do now."  
Damon nodded, looking at her through those brilliant blue orbs.

She couldn't help but let her eyes trail over his face, eventually settling on his lips.  
Not that it was her fault.  
Seriously, had there ever been a man more beautifully structured?

Damon seemed to be perfection.  
And he was a mere breath away.

She blinked, focusing back on his eyes, which was an even bigger mistake.  
They were a sea of emotions, staring at her with a starling intensity.

She became acutely aware of how close they were, the lines of her body against him, and those damn eyes, entrancing her.  
"Damon…" his name came off her lips as a whisper.

"Yes?" he asked quietly, his eyes never leaving hers.  
She swallowed, "You can't look at me that way."

"What way?" he pressed, and she smiled a little.  
He never did make things easy for her.

"The way I imagine Romeo looked at Juliet," she shot, jumping back to their reference.  
A smile played at his lips, "You mean the way we use to look at each other, back then?"

She pulled away from him, forcing herself to her feet, but he wasn't letting it go that easily.

"You can't say you don't feel the same."  
"Damon-"

"No, Elena," he cut her off, "Just admit it, you feel it too. I look at you, and it's like we're sixteen all over again."  
She crossed her arms, "You say that like it's a good thing."

He stood up, looming over her, "It was the best time of my life, because you were a part of it…don't you remember?"  
His hands fell to her waist, and she stiffened, "The fires on the beach, the dancing, the singing, watching the sunrise, the endless summers of adventures that we had together…Elena, I don't have a memory from my adolescent years without you in it. We loved each other, once. It was real."

His words were painting images in her mind that she had spent the past fifteen years putting behind her.  
She had been consumed by the love she'd felt for him then, and when he was gone, it had been simply too much to bare.

"Damon," she sighed, backing up, "We aren't sixteen anymore."

His knew the point he was making, but she had to make her own, "We did love each other, we had our time together, and it was a fairytale…the best I could have ever hoped for…and even to this day, I have never loved anyone the way I loved you then, but-"

His hand reached out, cupping her cheek, "But what? Hmm? What's the problem?"  
She covered his hand with her own, "The problem, is that it ended, Damon. We grew up. Life happened, and we changed."

"And because of that, you think we could never make it work?" he questioned.

She shook her head, "I'm not saying that. I'm just stating that we aren't those two kids anymore. We can't just jump back into a relationship that worked fifteen years ago, and expect it to work now. We use to love each other, Damon, and maybe, because of that, we still have feelings for each other, but in reality, we're just strangers with memories."

His eyes were blazing as he stroked her cheek, his voice barely above a whisper, "Then why do I still feel for you the way I do?"

She had to close her eyes, swallowing.  
If he kept staring at her like that, she was going to lose her resolve and fall right against those sculpted lips.

"We can't," she insisted, "At least, not yet."  
"Then when?" he inquired.

She opened her eyes, finding a pout on his face, "I think we'll know when. But it isn't right, right now. There is too much at stake, with Chris, our families, your career…now just isn't the time."

Finally, he sighed, dropping his hand, "If that's what you want."  
She nodded, "It is."

He seemed to decide something, then leaned forward.  
She froze, but his lips only grazed the top of her forehead, slowly, deliberately.

"I'll do whatever it is you want," he promised her, "But in fifteen years, no one has ever came close to meaning what you mean to me. I can wait for you…for us…I just need to know that there's a chance," he pulled back, staring into her eyes, "Please, Elena, just let me know this isn't for nothing."

Nodding, she slowly slid her arms around his neck, his own, wrapping around her waist.  
She held him against her, breathing in his scent, committing everything about him to memory.

"Once things settle down with Chris, I promise, we'll take the time to get to know each other again," she said, placing her chin on his shoulder, "And we'll see what happens then."  
Seemingly satisfied with this, he pulled her tighter against him, "Thank you."

Her throat grew thick as she nodded, "Just don't hurt me, Damon...I won't survive it this time."  
His head rested on hers, as he stated firmly, "I won't. Never again, Elena, I promise."

* * *

Chris had been in a good mood all day, despite the fact that every time he had a second to himself, his mind was in a battle.

This morning had been perfect.  
Everything he'd wanted, actually, right down to the light banter between his parents.

But it seemed like it was too easy, too simple.  
Surely there was another shoe to be dropped.  
Damon wouldn't just come in, be a good Dad, and everything fall into place.

Life just didn't work that way.

But it didn't seem like his grandfather had been exactly right either.  
Something about Damon just didn't lead him to believe everything that Grayson had said.

He'd been too sincere this morning.  
If he was planning on using them, he wouldn't have to try so hard…wouldn't look so guilty each time he was reminded of his mistakes.

Not that Grayson didn't have reason to worry.  
Chris could tell this morning, the chemistry Damon held with his mother.

The two of them didn't take their eyes off of each other the entire time they were in the same room.  
Which was a really good sign, or a really bad one.  
That really all depended on what Damon wanted from her.

Chris wouldn't just sit back and let Damon use Elena for his own pleasure, when she would be hurt emotionally.  
However, if Damon really did love her…maybe it could work out. Maybe they really would rekindle their old feelings and make it work this time.

And if it was a possibility, he didn't want to ruin that.  
Because Elena deserved to be happy. And if it was with his father…well, that was even better.

But Damon would have to prove himself first.  
Prove that he really was in it for the long run, not just the quick screw.

The final bell rang, bringing him from his thoughts, and he sighed.

Everyone began to move, hurrying to get out of this place, but he took his time, gathering his books, and placing them in his backpack.  
April, who was in the same class, waited for him by the door.

"You okay?" she asked, when he walked over.  
He nodded, "Yeah, perfect. Why?"

She raised a brow, "You're super zoned out look was a bit of a give away."  
He grinned "Was I that obvious."  
She nodded, "So what's on your mind?"

They made their way to her locker, and she stopped to grab her homework.

"Damon's living with us now," he told her.  
She shot him a look, but didn't jump into the hundreds of questions she obviously wanted to.  
Instead, she just waited for him to continue.

"It was Mom's idea," he started, "He came over last night."  
She nodded, "So, how did it go?"

He thought about that, "Interesting."  
"Do we like interesting?" she pressed.  
He smiled a little, "Yeah…I think we might."

"Well then," she closed her locker, turning to face him, "I'm happy for you."

His locker was the next stop.

"Thanks," he told her, "But it's still a little surreal. Like he's not only in town, and knows about me, but now he's sleeping on my couch."  
She leaned against the lockers next to his, "I imagine that would take some getting used to."

He agreed, "But I'm thinking if it works, it could be good, you know. And Mom will finally be happy."  
She nodded, "I'm glad you're getting the chance to know him. He's half of who you are, Chris. This is kind of amazing if you stop and think about it."

Chris thought back to that morning, "He got me up for school today."  
"Yeah?"  
He nodded, "Yeah. And made breakfast."

April chuckled, "Now that sounds like my kind of man."  
He smirked at her teasing look, finishing with his book, and closed his locker, "I'm worried that my mother will think the same thing."

April's eyebrows pulled together, "And you don't want that?"  
He shrugged, "I don't know, to be honest. I mean, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want my parents together, what kid doesn't, right? But I don't want Damon to hurt her…and I'm not certain that he won't."

She moved in front of him, standing on her toes, her arms snaking around his neck, "I think you worry too much."  
She kissed him lightly, "Your mom's a big girl Chris. She can make her own choices, where Damon or anyone else is concerned."

He sighed, "Yeah, but she's still my mom, April. I have to protect her."  
"And I love that you care so much," she told him, "But you can't live in fear of your Dad doing something that's going to make you regret him coming into your life, otherwise you won't ever really give him a chance."

A chuckle escaped his lips, "I should have guessed you'd say something like that."  
She smiled, "Which makes me predictable, but not wrong, and you know it."  
Sighing, he nodded, "You're not wrong. But things with Damon are just complicated right now."

"I'm sure they'll work out," she told him, "Just be sure to actually give him a chance. Otherwise you'll never know."  
"Yeah, yeah," he straightened his backpack, throwing his free arm over her shoulder, "But more of this later, we need to get going if you're gonna catch the bus. Plus, I wouldn't put I past Tyler to leave my ass."

She laughed, "Yeah, you're right."  
Taking his hand, they started down the hall.

* * *

**Okay, hope this appeased your crave for Delena fluff lol.  
That's the only part that sucks about having to rebuild the relationship. You can't just jump into the fun sexy parts lol.**

**But there will be plenty of that in the future ;)**

**So what did you guys think?**

**Was Damon a little upfront with his feelings?  
How do you think he'll prove to Chris that he really cares for Elena?  
How will he prove to Elena that he doesn't want to hurt her?  
Opinions on the Chris/April fluff?**

**All reviews are loved and appreciated!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Update!**

**I'm pretty happy with this chapter, even though it is a bit of a filler.**

**Hopefully you guys will enjoy!**

* * *

Elena had just finished her article by the time that Chris walked through the door.  
"How was school?" she asked, not bothering to look up as she emailed the file to her editor.

"Boring, as usual," he told her, shrugging off his pack and tossing it into the empty chair, "Is Damon still here?"

"Yeah, he's in the bathroom. Showering, and getting dressed. Speaking of which, you should go change too," She sighed, closing her computer, "We're going to your grandparents for dinner."  
"Salvatore's or Gilbert's?" he asked.

"Ha," she stood, "As if I'd actually let your father be in the same room with mine."  
"Because Grandpa hates him," Chris nodded.

"Eh, hate's a strong word," she insisted, "But I don't expect that getting them together anytime soon will be good for any of us."

"No kidding," he agreed, just as Damon stepped out of the bathroom.

Elena couldn't help but widen her eyes as her mouth went a little dry.

Damon was a vision, wet and shirtless, his jeans still unbuttoned, a towel thrown over his shoulder.  
Her eyes took on a mind of their own as they drifted down his naked torso.  
Oh the years had been good to that man.

Sculpted muscles, defined pecs, toned abs, v'd down hipbones…he was sex all wrapped up in a pretty package.

Seriously. His body was basically a giant arrow pointing right to his-

"Chris, you're home," he stated, cutting her thoughts away from his body, and back to their son, as he answered.  
"Yeah…Mom said we were going to Grandma's for dinner?"  
Damon nodded, "She called earlier. You cool with that?"  
"Sure," Chris agreed, "Grandma Val cooks better than anyone I know."  
"I second that," he chuckled, "Well, the shower's open if you need it. I hope you don't mind, but I used some of your body wash."  
"Oh, that's fine," Chris assured him.

Damon nodded, finally looking over at Elena.  
"You about ready?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I just finished the column, so I'm good."

"Did you need to change?" he asked, and she did her best not to imagine stripping down in front of him.  
"No, actually, I think I'm good," she took a breath.

He smirked a little, "Okay, just making sure. Though I was hoping we could leave by four. Mom texted me; said that Stefan and Caroline were going to be there as well."  
That was exactly the distraction she needed, "Caroline. Right…okay, good."  
"Alright then," Damon stated.  
She bit her lip, "Yep."

* * *

Chris tried not to laugh aloud at his parent's behavior.

God, they couldn't be more obvious if they tried.  
His mother was practically drooling on herself, and Damon wasn't being shy with his wandering eye either.

It really shouldn't be so comical to watch, but under different circumstances, he'd put money on how long it would take them to jump each other if he were to leave the room.  
Not that he really wanted to find out.

"So, we're gonna be leaving soon?"

They both snapped out of their staring contest and looked at him.

"Uh, yeah," Elena recovered first, "Sounds good."  
He nodded, "Okay, good."

* * *

An hour later, they were pulling into the Salvatore's driveway.

Damon had to admit, this felt good.  
Like he could pretend that this was a regular night with his family, enjoying dinner at his parents.

Stefan's car was in front of theirs as they got out and made their way to the house.

He felt a smile lift his lips.  
Tonight was going to be good. He could feel it.

Valentina greeted them, after Chris rang the doorbell.  
"I was worried you wouldn't make it!" She smiled, giving Chris a hug, then leaning forward to kiss Elena's cheek.  
"And miss your cooking?" Damon teased, "No way."  
She ushered them inside, "Well, we'll eat in about an hour, but Stefan and the others are in the living room."

Damon gave her a nod, and let his hand fall easily onto Elena's lower back, as Chris lead the way into the giant room.

"Elena!" a certain blond squealed, making her way over, "I was hoping you'd be here! Elijah sent me an email about the G.L.D files, and I completely forgot to get them organized! But I know you have a copy on your computer, so could you maybe send them to me tomorrow? I'd owe you, like, forever, and it really is important! I mean, if I don't get these finished, he's gonna grill my ass, and you know how I hate deadlines anyway, and if this all-"

"Caroline!" Elena chuckled, "It's okay, I have them, and yes, of course, I'll send them when I get home."  
"Thanks," she grinned, and finally seemed to notice Damon standing behind her.

He was a little amused. Caroline hadn't changed at all.

"Well, if it isn't the prodigal son," she teased.  
He smirked, "Honey, I've been called worse."  
She smiled, "Now that I believe."

He gave a nod to Stefan, across the room, before looking down at her, "So I hear you finally took the Salvatore name."

"Finally," she allowed.  
His brother made his way over then, "It certainly took long enough. The engagement was a year long."  
Caroline whirled around to face him, "Well excuse me for wanting the beautiful wedding that we had. Things like that take time! Lots of planning, and stress, and _time_!"

He smiled at her, "But it was everything you wanted."  
Blondie giggled a little, "That it was."

Stefan shook his head, lifting his arm, "Brother."  
Damon leaned forward, the two embracing, "Glad you got to come."

Stefan nodded, "Oh, and the kids…"

For the first time, Damon was aware of the two dirty blond heads sitting across the room, on the couch in front of the television.  
"Ah, right," he noted.

Stefan turned toward them, "Hey, Lex, Nick, come here for a second."  
At the sound of their names, the two looked over, and then did as their father said.

Damon exhaled.  
Stefan was a father now.  
_He_ was a father.  
Seriously, when had they all went and grown up?

The two came over, and Damon saw that they were still pretty young.  
The boy may have been ten, eleven at most, and the girl couldn't be older than eight.

"Damon," Stefan addressed him, "This is Nicolai and Alexia. Nick, Lexi, this is your uncle, Damon."  
He smiled at them, saying hello, and the little girl smiled shyly.

The boy however, grew excited.  
"Are you the one who comes on the radio?!"  
Damon chuckled, "I am."

"Mom says you're really famous!" he continued, "Are you?"  
"I'd like to think so," he answered, going with it.  
Nicolai scrunched his nose a little, "I thought Daddy said you lived far far away?"

"I did," Damon answered, amused at how this boy resembled his little brother with bright green eyes, "But I came back home, to Mystic Falls."  
"How come?" Nick pressed, and Caroline stepped in.

"Okay, sweetie, enough with the twenty questions. Take your sister, and go watch TV."  
He crossed his arms, "But that's a baby show."

To Damon's surprise, Chris stepped up, "Hey, it's cool man. We can go sit on the couch with Lex, and I'll show you this new game on my phone."  
Clearly tempted, Nick nodded, "Okay yeah! What kind of game?"  
Chris winked at the group before sliding past them, leading his cousins back to the entertainment corner.

Damon smiled a little, which Stefan noticed.

"He's a damn good kid, Damon."  
Damon met his brother's gaze, then looked down at Elena, "So I'm learning."

She blushed a little, and he sighed.  
"Well," he addressed Stefan, "I'm sure these two are wanting to talk, so what do you say we go raid Dad's liqueur?"  
Stefan chuckled, kissing Caroline's head, "Sounds good…Elena."

She smiled at him and Damon looked at her, "Have fun….Blondie."  
Caroline rolled her eyes, but grinned, "Good to have you home, Damon."

* * *

Elena probably should have slowed down on the wine.

But the moment Damon and Stefan had left, Caroline had pounced, demanding a play by play of everything that had happened since Damon being back in town.  
Once all the good parts were brought to light, analyzed, and categorized by the blond in question, Elena's headache had come back.  
Not that she wasn't having a good time, but she was hoping the wine would help dull it some, which luckily, it had.

Now she was sitting on the couch, across from Stefan, who was holding Lexi in his lap as he flipped through a photo album with her.  
Caroline had left to help Val set up the table, and Giuseppe had made his way down and was now talking with his grandsons about something or another.

However, the majority of Elena's attention was across the room.

Damon was fingering the binds of the books along the shelf, seeming to be re-familiarizing himself.  
A glass of amber liquid claimed his free hand, and he looked pretty relaxed.  
Once or twice he'd even glanced over at her, smirking when he found that she was already staring.  
But she couldn't help it…not really.

"So I take it things are working out?" Stefan inquired, and she jumped a little, looking over at him.  
"What? Oh…yeah. Yeah, things are good, I guess."  
He chuckled, "Elena, you haven't taken your eyes off him the entire time we've been sitting here. I'd say that's a little more than an 'I guess'."

She sighed, "It's more like an 'I don't know'."  
"Meaning?" he pressed.  
"Meaning that I'm not sure what's going to happen."

He gave her a look, "But you know what you want to happen."  
She narrowed her eyes, "Okay, just because we've been friends forever and you can read me like a book, doesn't necessarily mean that you should, you know?"  
He chuckled, "Ah, come on. If I don't give you hell about it, who will?"

She smirked, "Your wife."  
He considered that, "You are probably right…and speaking of which."

He motioned off into the distance and she turned.  
Valentina and Caroline walked into the living room.

"Okay, food's done, and the table's set. Let's go eat!"  
Nobody could object to that, and everyone made their way into the dining room.

* * *

Damon couldn't keep the smile off of his face.

Dinner had been amazing, as usual, and not only had he gotten to enjoy time with Elena and Chris, but he also got to reminisce about what life use to be like.

He grew up in this house, with Stefan.  
And now everyone was back, and for once, things seemed to be making sense again.

Valentina had outdone herself, once again, having made an entire four course meal, including desert.  
Once everyone was certain another bite couldn't be had, more wine was brought out.  
And of course, Val had brought grape juice for the kids, though Chris insistently passed on both.

The conversation had been fun, relaxed, jokes even being made about how it had been a while since this many Salvatore's had been under the same roof in Mystic Falls.  
It was good to catch up with his brother again, and seeing Elena and his son enjoying themselves was the icing on the cake.

Finally Valentina stood, "Damon, come with me for a moment, please?"  
Curious, he nodded, excusing himself from the table.

His mother led him down the hall, into the family's library.  
"I have something for you," she told him, "I found it a while back, and never got around to sending it to you…but I remembered it the other day, and was thinking it may of use to you."

His eyebrows furrowed, as she reached onto the nearby shelf and grabbed a binder.  
"I'm sure you remember this."  
He reached out, taking it from her, and exhaled, opening it.

Memories from the past spilled out at him in the words written down there.  
His old song book.

Everything he'd ever written in high school, collected in front of him.

"I forgot I had this," he stated quietly.  
Val smiled, "You never use to be without it. I read through some. They're actually quite good. Better than the stuff you've put out lately."  
He shot her a look and she chuckled, "No offense."

Shrugging, he looked back down, absorbing the words there, and flipped through the pages.  
Stopping on one in particular, he smiled.

_One boy, one girl, two hearts beating wildly  
To put it mildly it was love at first sight  
He smiled, she smiled, and they knew right away  
This was the day they'd waited for all their lives  
And for a moment the whole world revolved  
Around one boy and one girl._

"This was about Elena?" his mother inquired, and he nodded softly.

He remembered sitting down and writing these words.  
It was summer, on the banks of the falls.  
The grass was green, the water was cool, and they had all the time in the world.

It was one of those rare infinite moments of true happiness, as he stared at her, stretched out on their picnic blanket, eating the occasional strawberry as she thumbed through her book.

He remembered feeling the certainty that this was his forever.  
This girl, this moment, and nothing else existed.

Inspired, he'd grabbed the binder, which he carried everywhere back then, and began to write.  
The lyrics had come easily, and he'd worked out the melody a few days after.

Then that night they'd all camped out at the lake, he'd played it for her.  
He sighed as he thought of those times, with the whole gang together like that, and Elena at his side.

He never dreamed it would come to an end.

"She still loves you, you know?" Valentina spoke, cutting into Damon's thoughts.  
He blinked at her words, "Elena?"

His mother nodded, "I'm sure of it."  
He swallowed, meeting her gaze, so like his own, "How can you be?"

She smiled, reaching up to cup his cheek, "Oh, baby…mothers know these things. And I've watched her over the years. She's dated, but her heart was never in it. Her attention is caught the second your name is brought up, and Chris told me once that he caught her listening to your music, alone in her room. Besides…feelings like the two of you had…those don't just go away."

Damon closed the binder, dropping his gaze, "I shouldn't have left her."  
"You're right," Val nodded, "You shouldn't have. But don't work yourself up about that. You need to concentrate on what you're going to do to win her back."

His eyes shot to hers, "What makes you think that-"  
"Damon, please," she smirked, "Don't insult me. Anyone with eyes can see that you are still head over heels for her."  
He raised a brow, amused, "Are you seriously playing matchmaker right now?"

"I call it like I see it," she grinned, "And I see plenty. Elena's scared, but she loves you, she always has. And you are clearly smitten with her, and Chris…so why torture yourself? If you want to be with her, be with her."

He sighed, "It's not that simple, Mom."  
"Sure it is," she pressed, "It is always that simple. You should be with the person you love, with your family. They need you, Damon. We all do."

He smiled a little, "I'm not going anywhere."  
"You had better not," Val insisted, "We just got you back."

He nodded, then deciding, since she'd opened the conversation, "You know, I would have been back sooner if someone had actually told me about Christian."  
Val sighed, "Damon, I apologized for that."

"I know," he countered, "But still. Someone should have said something. I understand Elena's hesitance to include me, but I had the right to know. And even though you were respecting her wishes, you should have known me better than that."

She nodded, "I did…I do. I know you well enough to know that you would have come home, and done exactly what you've done now…the right thing. But Elena wasn't ready for that, and neither was Christian. I honestly believe that things have a way of working themselves out, which clearly they have. And I am sorry that you had to miss so much, I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but you're here now, and that's what you have to focus on. Making up for lost time."

Damon shook his head, "Elena doesn't want to make up Mom. At least, not anytime soon."  
"And you're okay with that?" she asked, a little disbelieving.  
"Of course not," he sighed, "I…I want her, Mom. I want a family with her, and Chris too, of course, but Elena…I've never been able to shake her."

Valentina gave him a compassionate look, "You always were all or nothing."  
"Like it helps me now," he sighed.

She reached up, taking his face in her hands, "Damon, don't give up on this. You know what you want, so go for it. You love her, and there's no use in being miserable."  
He shook his head, pulling her hands into his own, "I told her I'd give her time. She wants us to focus on Chris right now, and she's right. It's selfish of me to worry about our relationship until I work out the one I have with my son."

His mother pursed her lips, "Can I give you some advice?"  
He smiled, "Like you've ever needed my permission."

She grinned, "True."  
"So…" he pressed.

She sighed, "Well, everything you said may be true. But personally, I think you're fooling yourselves. You've done plenty of waiting, Damon. Fifteen years, and Elena's been doing this alone for too long. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be concerned about patching up things with Christian, because you definitely should. But don't use him as an excuse."

Damon's brows pulled together, "What do you mean?"  
"Exactly what I said," she insisted, "And you can't let Elena pull that either. She's scared Damon, but she can't hide behind Chris just so she won't have to own up to what she feels. It's way too easy to do, so don't let her."

"How?" he pressed, "I can't just change her mind about us."  
A knowing smirk crossed Valentina's lips, "Somehow, I'll think you'll find a way."

He chuckled, "I'm open for suggestions."  
"Just be your charming self, baby. Everything else will work itself out."

He nodded, "I hope you're right."

* * *

**So lots of Damon/Mommy bonding lol.**

**Do you guys think that Val is right?  
Is Elena hiding behind Christian, so she doesn't have to face her feelings?  
****Should they really be fighting the obvious attraction between them, or should they just give in?**

**Let me know what you think, and leave a review please!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Okay, I love the next couple of chapters! Lol. They were so fun to write!**

**Can't wait to see what you guys think!**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

It was past 9:00 when they finally made it back to the house, and Elena felt exhaustion in every part of her bones.  
Not to mention she still had to get up and go to work tomorrow.  
And she had to send Caroline those files.  
Plus a shower was probably a good idea.  
And her headache was raging.

She groaned.

"You okay?" Chris asked, as they entered the living room.  
She nodded, "I'm just tired, baby."  
He accepted this, "Yeah, me too. I think I'm gonna go take a shower then get in bed."

She nodded, "Sounds good."  
He kissed her cheek, "Love you."

She offered him a smile, and he turned, heading to his room.

Sighing, she took a seat on the couch.

"You sure you're feeling okay?" Damon pressed.  
"I think you were right."

"About?" he inquired.  
"This might be some sort of bug," she caved, "My head's still hurting, my throat feels dry, and I think I have a fever."

He crossed the room, sitting next to her.

Before she could ask what he was doing, he had cupped her jaw, and pulled her head closer to him, as his lips rested on her forehead.  
After a second, he pulled away.

"Yeah, you feel a little warm. I'll make you some tea. Where's your medicine?"  
She shook her head, "I've been drinking wine. The pills are probably a bad idea."

He considered this, then nodded, "Well, tea it is then. I'll put some on. Why don't you go soak in a bath. It'll make you feel better."  
She thought of the half full container of bubbles she had under her sink, "That actually sounds amazing."

He smiled, "Good. So go take a bath, I'll make the tea and bring a cup to your room when it's done."  
She nodded, "Thank you…but I have to send Caroline those emails first."

He eyed the computer, "Will it take long?"  
She shook her head, "Not at all."

"Okay then."  
He disappeared into the kitchen, and she opened her laptop.

Just as she had said, it took barely any time at all to attach the file to an email and send it off.

Damon was walking into the room as she finished.

"All done?" she asked.  
He nodded, "As soon as the water boils I'll bring it to you."  
"Thanks," she said again, standing.

He took a few slow steps closer to her, then gently reached out and pushed her hair back, his hand lingering on her cheek, "Are you going to be okay?"

She smiled, "It's a headache, Damon, not the end of the world. I'll just relax, get some sleep, and it'll all be fine. Good as new for work tomorrow."  
He raised a brow, "If you say so."

"I do," she insisted, bringing her hand up to cover his, "Things happen. I just have to learn to work around them."

She was sure he could hear the accidental double meaning in her words, but couldn't make herself care.  
Not tonight.

"I'm going to go take that bath now."  
He nodded, letting his hand fall, "Yeah, of course."

She bit her lip, then decisively turned, passing Chris on the way to her bedroom.

* * *

Christian had hurried with his shower, wanting to find out what was up with his mother.  
She had seemed a little out of it, and Damon had looked concerned.

He toweled off, and got dressed, making his way into the living room.  
Damon was still in there, folding out the couch so he could sleep.

"Hey," he addressed, announcing his presence.  
Damon glanced up at him, "Chris…"

"Is Mom okay?" he asked, not beating around the bush.  
Damon straightened, eyeing him, "Why wouldn't she be?"  
Chris shrugged, "She seemed off."

Damon caught his drift and nodded, "Oh, that. Yeah, she's just not feeling very well."  
"Is she sick?" Chris pressed.

"Might be getting that way," Damon admitted, "She has a headache and a fever. But bugs happen all the time. It'll pass."  
Chris nodded, feeling a little better, "Is there anything I can do?"

Damon glanced to the kitchen, "I made her some tea…do you know if she takes sugar, or?"  
"Honey," Chris told him, "She drinks it with honey."

Damon smiled gently, "Thanks."

He nodded, "I can get it, if you want?"  
"If you don't mind," Damon allowed, and he shrugged, heading toward the kitchen.

He'd watched his mother make this a million times.

And he even tested it after pouring the honey in.  
Not bad.

He took the cup back into the living room, just to find that his father was no longer there.  
He turned around the corner, and glanced down the hall.  
Damon was standing at his mother's door, listening.

"Everything okay?" he asked, coming up behind him.  
"Just making sure she wasn't getting dressed," Damon explained, "But I think she's still in the bath."

Chris nodded, opening the door.  
"Mom?"

"Yeah?" her voice did indeed come from the bathroom, "We got your tea."  
"Okay, thanks. Just sit it on the night stand. I'll get it when I'm done."

He did as she asked, and told her goodnight, before joining Damon back in the hall.

"She'll get it when she's through."  
Damon nodded, and led them into the living room, "Well, hopefully it'll help."

He scoffed, "Even if it doesn't, I doubt we'll know."  
His father raised a brow, "And why's that?"

"'Cause Mom's a martyr," Chris explained, "Even if she feels like crap, she'll play it off so no one worries about her."  
Damon smirked a little, "I guess some things don't change."

"She's always been like that?" Chris pressed, curious.  
"Always," Damon agreed, sitting down on his make shift bed.

Chris sat down in the chair across from him, "How long have you known Mom?"

Damon relaxed back into the mattress, seeming lost in thought.  
"We kind of grew up together…but she was younger than me, and we didn't exactly hang out with the same people. I only knew her from around school, and the Founder's events our parents dragged us too."

Chris laughed a little.  
That at least, was something that he could definitely relate to.

"Yeah, Mom likes going to those things, and she's constantly having me involved with one committee or another."

Damon chuckled, "Well, as a Gilbert, and a Salvatore, you never stood much a chance."  
His tone grew serious then, "But that's not to say you shouldn't participate. Be involved. Trust me…you don't know how good you have things until you lose them."

The magnitude of emotion in his voice startled Chris.

"Are you thinking about Mom? About when you left Mystic Falls?"

His father sighed, their gazes meeting, "I don't think that it's something I'll be forgetting any time soon," he admitted, "I walked out on a lot more than I realized…for reasons that stopped making sense a long time ago."

"Reasons like what?" Chris pressed.

Damon sat up, facing him.  
"It was complicated…and I don't want to talk bad about your family, so I really don't think that-"

"I'm not a kid, Damon," Chris insisted, "I deserve to know."

Seeming conflicted, Damon finally sighed.  
"I'm sorry. You're right. You do need to know. The choices of your life have been taken away from you too much already."

Chris nodded, "So what happened?"

Damon met his eyes as he spoke, "You're aware that Grayson isn't my biggest fan, right?"

Chris nodded, "I've heard."

Damon nodded, "Well, he never did like me much, even before your mother and I got together, but that's mainly because he didn't care much for my father. When I started dating your Mom, Grayson was polite, but not very happy about it."

Chris stayed silent, letting him continue.

"Then your Mom and I started talking about college, and what would happen after I left, with her still being in high school. You know, normal fears that every pair of high school sweethearts have, I guess. But we thought we had it worked out. Elena had a passion for writing, she always has, and she figured that she could do her stories on the side, while becoming a professional song writer."

"Grandpa told me that she wanted to be a doctor," Chris stated, a little confused.

"I think she did, at one point," Damon allowed, "When she was younger, maybe. But that was always more of Grayson's dream for her, to follow in his shoes. But Elena was too creative, too free spirited to ever be happy as a doctor, and I think a part of Grayson knew that."

"Grandma did say that you two being together changed her some," Chris allowed.

"It may have," Damon nodded, "But Elena was stubborn. She knew what she wanted, and no one was going to change her mind. And she wanted us to be together, working on music."

"So what happened?" Chris asked, trying not to sound too accusing.

Damon sighed, "I was an idiot, that's what. I went away for a semester in L.A, and it was hard. Really hard. The music business is a tough world, and to be honest, I felt like I was failing miserably. Your Mom would stay up on the phone with me for hours, reminding me of why I chose to do this, telling me not to give up, and for the most part, it worked."  
He sighed, "Though somewhere in my mind, I must have had some doubts. I came home for Christmas, and I finally got to see her again. I couldn't tell you how happy I was, being back around people who cared about me…it's not something that you realize you miss. But I did. And your mother was no less committed to me than the day I left. It was calming, settling."

"Then how could you just walk away?" Chris inquired, his voice small.

It didn't sound like Damon had planned on leaving at all, yet something would have had to have happened.  
Even though this was beginning to sound different than everything he'd ever assumed.

"I'll admit that your mother and I might have made some poor choices," Damon stated, "We weren't exactly careful, when we were that age, and obviously, you wouldn't be here if we were, but point being, we didn't think of the consequences our choices could bring. Like sneaking into her window once everyone had gone to bed, and sneaking back out, expecting not to get caught."

"By Grandpa?" he asked.

Damon nodded, "I'd been home for two, maybe three days. I only had a few weeks off from school, and I wasn't going to waste any second I could spend with Elena. Unfortunately though, Grayson's hours at the hospital had switched while I was away, and he had pulled into the drive, just as I was sneaking out."

Chris felt a wave of uncomfortableness.  
Like he knew he wasn't going to like what Damon was about to tell him, but he needed to hear it anyway. He had to know.

"I was almost out of the yard when he called out to me," Damon continued, "Scared the hell out of me, to be honest. I mean, your Mom was under eighteen and I wasn't. He could have easily pressed charges…but he said he only wanted to talk."

"Talk?" Chris tried.  
Yeah, his grandpa was good at talking. He knew that first hand.

"Yep," Damon sighed, "And I'll give it to the man, he knew just what buttons to press."

Chris swallowed, "So Grandpa made you leave?"

Damon immediately shook his head, "No, Chris. I'm not saying that. Not at all. My leaving wasn't Grayson's choice, it was mine. He just gave me the push in that direction."

"How?" Chris asked.

"He told me things I was already thinking, but didn't want to admit. That Elena would be better off as a doctor. That she had a promising career ahead of her, and that I was only going to get in the way of that with all of our California nonsense. He told me that she deserved more than a struggling musician who had nothing to offer her. And he was right. Elena's always deserved a hell of a lot better than me. I tried to defend myself…I told him that I loved her, that I'd make sure she was taken care of, but he had me feeling about ten inches tall. How could I take care of Elena, when I wasn't even sure of my own future? I had no other plans than making it big time, and there was no guarantee of that happening. By all means, it shouldn't have. I was lucky to pick up with the company I did, and even then, there have been times when I was scrounging for change just to get by. Grayson was right. That wasn't the life either of us wanted for Elena."

He seemed lost in the memory, the words just pouring.

"So I did what I thought was the right thing. I told myself I'd let her go…give her a chance. I never wanted to leave her, but I was convinced that it was selfish of me to make her go through all of that, especially when she had so much potential. But I loved her, and it was the hardest thing I'd ever done. I watched her heart break. Literally, as I told her things needed to end between us. It killed me to hurt her, but I was so sure she'd be better off in the long run. I lied through my teeth, in so many ways, just to convince her that this was the best thing for us. And that's a choice I've regretted ever since."  
"Especially when I found out about you, Chris," Damon swallowed, "It was then that I had to accept that I'd messed up. I didn't free Elena, I abandoned her. And you have every right to hate me for that."

Chris nodded, but he didn't hate him.

He felt his throat grow thick, but he knew it was true.  
There was so much conviction, too much pain and regret in Damon's words for them to be false.

Which means that Grayson had embellished quite a bit over the years.

"Grandpa told me that you left her, but he didn't mention all of that," Chris told him, guilt for the grudge he'd held against Damon turned his stomach, "He made it sound like you only wanted Mom for sex, and took off after you were done with her."

Damon sighed, "I think that he might have believed that, Chris. Elena is his only child. He was very protective of her, and she and I, well, we weren't exactly innocent."

"He shouldn't have made you out to be the bad guy," Chris insisted, "And why are you defending him? He's only ever talked down about you, and the rest of our family."

Damon seemed to weigh his answer, "He's only human, Chris. And he's your grandfather. I'm sure he has his share of regrets too, but I can't worry about him. I didn't come back for him, and I'm not staying for him. You and your mom are all that matter to me, Chris. Let everyone else worry. I'm more concerned about being okay with you guys."

Chris nodded.  
But still, his world seemed a little shaken.

Grayson may not have meant to lie to him, or maybe he didn't even believe that he had, but Chris felt as though he was old enough to understand the gist of what had happened.

And if he was sure of anything, it was that Damon would have stayed.  
If he'd known Elena was pregnant, there was no doubt in his mind that Damon would have stuck around.

The weight of what could have been, pained him.

Everything that the "supposed to be" adults in his life, kept him from having.

A part of him wanted to be angry, but what good would that do?

Damon was right. They didn't have _time _to worry about the past.  
They just had to make the best out of the hand they had now.

He met his father's gaze, decided.

"Well, if it helps…I'm glad you're here, now, Damon."

The man's smile was answer enough.  
"Yeah. Me too."

* * *

**So what did you think?**

**Chris finally got to hear Damon's side of the story! :)**

**Please, please leave a review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**You guys are so awesome! Really :) **

**Thanks for all the reviews and support! **

* * *

Damon laid awake in the dark, hours after Chris had gone to bed.  
His mind was much to wired to fall asleep.

For the first time, he felt like he'd actually made some progress with Chris.

Annoyance had flashed through him when he realized that Grayson had been putting rumors into Christian's head, but he was standing by what he'd told his son.  
Grayson wasn't his problem.

And Chris seemed mature enough to make his own decisions about his feelings, so he'd just do what he could to prove that he could be trusted, and let the chips fall where they may.

Grayson could worry about up keeping the feud bitterness between them, because he had better things to fret about than that.  
They were all adults, and it had happened too long ago to make much difference now, so he was just going to focus on his family.

Valentina's words came to his mind then.

He trusted his mother's opinion, always had, and she truly seemed to believe that he should fight for Elena, even if the woman in question wanted an indefinite hold on the romantic side of their relationship.

Not that he didn't understand that, but his mother was right.  
They'd waited so long, been miserable so long, without each other that no one was really going to win in this situation.

As he thought about this, a noise sounded from down the hall.  
It was muffled, but loud enough to make him sit up.

What the-

He heard it again, and realized it was coming from Elena's room.

Quietly, but quickly, he got up, slid on his pants, not taking the time to worry about his shirt, and was at her door.  
The noise grew louder as he silently pulled it open, and exhaled, before slipping inside.

It was dark, but the light coming from the moon outside the window illuminated the place enough that he could make out Elena's form on the bed.  
Though, the way she was tossing, he might have been able to anyway.

"Elena?" he whispered.

She was still tossing, a sob escaping her lips.  
He realized then that he noise had been coming from her, and was confirmed seconds later, when she cried out.

Concerned, he moved to the bed, sitting on the edge, and reached for her, "Elena."  
He tried shaking her a little, but that only seemed to make the thrashing worse.

"Hey, sweetheart, it's just me. Elena, baby, open your eyes."

She whimpered against his hold, and he noticed that she was sweating.  
He brought his hand to her head.  
God, she was burning up.

"Elena," he tried again, earning him a wail so mournful, he hurt for her.

Making a quick decision, he pulled the blankets back, and laid down next to her, pulling her against his body, and holding her there.  
She thrashed at first, but he kept whispering in her ear.

"Shh, it's just me. You're okay, sweetheart, I'm here. Okay? I'm here, Elena. Wake up. Come on, baby."

She seemed to calm some, and seconds later, her eyes fluttered open.  
"Damon?" she exhaled shakily.

"Yeah, it's me," he told her, moving back to see her face, "Are you okay?"

"Am I dreaming?" she asked confusedly.  
He chuckled slightly, "No, you aren't dreaming…though it seemed you were a few seconds ago…and you seemed upset."

She ducked her face down, "Did I?"

He sighed, resting his head on hers, "Elena, don't do that. Don't hide from me."  
He felt her swallow, and pressed on, "What's the matter, sweetheart? What had you so upset?"

She sighed against him, her warm breath near his neck, "It was just a nightmare."

"What about?" he asked, "Chris again?"  
He felt her nod, the pulled back a little, so he could see her face, "Him…and you."

That surprised him some, "Me?"  
She nodded, "You left…you both did."

Damon swallowed, "We're both still right here, Elena."

Her eyes closed, "But it felt so real. Chris hated me…he really hated me, for lying to you…for keeping him away from you, and you hated me too. You told me that a good mother would let her son meet his father. That she would let him be a part of-"

A sob rocked through her, and Damon tightened his grip, hating that she was hurting.  
"I'm so sorry, Damon," she gasped, "I never should have made everyone lie to you. I should have called you the second I knew I was pregnant. I am so so sorry….I was so selfish, and Chris suffered for it, God, I'm a horrible person! What kind of mother would do that?"

Unable to listen to her beat herself up, Damon took her face in his hands, "Elena, baby, listen to me."  
She met his gaze hesitantly.

"You are a wonderful mother, okay? We all made mistakes, and yes, they suck, but it doesn't matter anymore. And nobody hates you. Chris adores you, and you know it. That nightmare wasn't real. _This_ is real. We are real. And that's all that matters. Okay? You have to cut yourself some slack."

She nodded slowly, relaxing finally, into his embrace.  
With a sigh, he moved his arms around her body and pulled her into a hug.  
She fit so perfectly against him.

And her hair. He inhaled the scent he once had memorized, and half expected to be waking up from a dream himself.  
But this wasn't a dream.

This was his reality now, and they were both going to have to work through that.

He dropped a light kiss to her forehead, and pulled away, noting the cup on the other side of the night stand.  
Reaching over, he grabbed it, "I'll get you some water."

She nodded, and he sat up, walking to her bathroom, instead of all the way into the kitchen, rinsed the cup out in the sink, and refilled it, before bringing it back.  
She had turned on the lamp, and the glow was welcoming as he brought the drink to her, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Thank you," she told him, taking it, and sipping on it.  
She still seemed shaking, so he reached out, running a hand down her back.

She sat the cup back down, before readjusting herself, and lying flat, a thin sheet pulled up over her while the thicker blanket remained at the foot of the bed.  
"Is there anything else you need?" he asked, and she shook her head.

He nodded, letting his hand stroke her arm one more time, before reaching over her and turning off the light.  
The darkness was sudden.

"Goodnight, Elena."

He moved to get up, but was halted when she quickly propped up, grabbing his hand.

"Damon, wait."

He stopped, turning back to look at her.  
Even in the dark, he could see the fear and vulnerability on her face.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

She bit her lip adorably, seeming to hesitate.

"Elena?"

She swallowed, finally lifting her gaze to his own.  
"Do you think that you could maybe…stay? In here, I mean. With me?"

He blinked at her, and she cleared her throat, "I just…I don't really want to be alone right now."

Shaking off the shock, he nodded, "Um, yeah. Sure, of course."  
Relief clearly flooded her face, and she moved over, making room for him.

Hesitantly, he pulled back the blankets and slid in beside her.

She turned, facing him, "Do you usually wear jeans to bed?"  
He smirked, "No, I don't, but I wasn't sure you'd be too comfortable if I-"

"It's nothing I haven't seen before," she reminded him, "And you should be comfortable too."

Shrugging, he gave in, undoing the button on his pants, and sliding them off, making sure his underwear stayed in place.  
He kicked the jeans away, and they landed somewhere on the floor, but he didn't have time to register where, because Elena was suddenly moving into his arms.

Her head rested on his chest, her arm draped over his stomach, and his bicep became her pillow.  
He didn't want to scare her by moving too fast, but let his arm cradle around her until she was molded into him.

Her eyes were closed, and she seemed much more peaceful now.  
And admittedly, so did he.

So instead of questioning it, he decided to hold her close, dropping his head on top of hers, as if they'd done this a million times, and then again, maybe they had.  
Maybe this feeling of intimacy wasn't something that time could take away.

He let his finger drift through her hair, as her breathing evened, and he thanked whatever lucky stars he had that he was here, holding the only girl who had ever meant a thing to him.

And he was never letting her go again.  
His heart clenched with realization that maybe they really were it for each other.

But the difficulty came in separating what he felt now, with what he'd felt for her in the past.  
Because fifteen years ago, it had taken everything in him to leave her.

And he'd never been able to come back.  
Because he knew he was weak.

She'd always been there, in the back of his mind.  
The one he'd let slip through his fingers.

And he'd known himself well enough to know that coming back to Mystic Falls would only cause him trouble.  
He had imagined seeing her again in at least a hundred scenarios.

Most of which involved her kicking his ass, or showing up to some town even with a husband and kids.  
Those haunting thoughts had left him awake on his lonely nights, when he wondered where life had taken her.

He had never imagined it would be here, raising his son.

A rush of loss passed through him again as he thought about everything his pride had cost him.  
But that wouldn't be the case anymore.

He stared down at her upturned face.  
So sweet and restful.

He'd do whatever it took to make it up to her. To be there for her and Chris now that he actually could.

Mentally, he promised himself that he wouldn't give up until his family was happy, holding everything they deserved.  
And Elena definitely deserved happiness.

That gorgeous seventeen year old girl he'd last seen was a woman now.  
A stubborn, independent, beautiful woman, who was stronger than anyone he'd ever known.

She'd have to be, to have gotten through all of this practically alone.  
But she wouldn't be alone anymore.

He removed his fingers from her hair, and trailed the tips across her cheek, and down her neck, unable to tear his eyes away from every line of her.  
He would make her happy again.

He had to.

A certainty settled over him, and he knew his life was about to be different.  
He was going to have to start making some changes in his career, rearranging his priorities, but it would be worth it in the end.

Slowly, he let his eyes trail down her face, to those perfect full lips.

Then, hesitantly, he leaned forward, and light as a baby's breath, pressed his against hers, sealing his promise.

He would change, for her; for their son.  
Pulling away, he sighed.

This was going to be his life one day.

He was going to give them both a second chance at a happy ending.

Starting one day at a time.

* * *

**Okay, so a little fluff there, and more Delena to come! :)**

**Review and let me know what you thought, please! **


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm so happy you guys liked the chapter!  
I was a little nervous about the scene, seeing as I don't want them to move too fast, but I don't want it boring either lol.**

**Hope you enjoy this one too! :)**

* * *

Elena's alarm went off just as early as it did every weekday morning.  
Only today, she felt less inclined to crawl from her bed, given that she hadn't slept that well in God knew how long.

She groaned, blindly reaching behind her for the night stand, where her phone always was, but ended up hitting something else.  
Something hard, and warm, just as a tired voice mumbled, "I got it."

She froze.  
Why was Damon in her bed?  
Oh….right. The nightmare…

She'd been too afraid in the dark.  
Afraid that it would all become too real.

She had needed him there, close to her, as proof that he wouldn't slip away when she awoke, as his memory had so many times over the years.

The noise of the alarm ended as he moved from behind her, but she was too afraid to turn and face him.  
However, she heard the clack of her phone being set back down, and then Damon was burrowing back into the mattress, his arm wrapping around her.

She swallowed.

She was still lying on his arm, facing away from him, and now he was completely molded against her body.  
A blush colored her cheek when realization that she was actually spooning with Damon hit her.

She knew she should probably move, make up some topic avoiding comment, and go get ready for work, but the less responsible part of her felt entirely too good in his embrace.  
She battled with herself, before finally deciding to allow just a few minutes to enjoy it.

Hell, it wasn't exactly like she'd had a lot of cuddling opportunities lately. She hadn't even gone past first base with a guy since Chris started Jr. High.  
To say that she was missing the comfort of having a strong pair of arms holding her was an understatement.

Add the fact that the arms were Damon's, and she stood no chance.  
So five minutes…she could sacrifice that much.

She calmed her mind, letting her thoughts drift instead to the feel of him.

His chest was rising and falling easily, meaning he'd probably drifted back to sleep, and his head was leaning against her own, his warm breath tingling her scalp.  
The curve of her body aligned perfectly with his, as his arm had snaked around her waist, holding her into him.

She shifted slightly.  
Which was apparently the wrong thing to do.

Her cheeks were set ablaze with heat and embarrassment as she realized what the simple motion had done to him.  
Because she knew exactly what that thick weight pressing into her thigh was.

Oh, god.

This was bad of her. She really should have known better.

Damon may be asleep, but his reaction to her touch was all the same, and she could barely deal with a normal sleeping Damon.  
A hard, muscular, turned on Damon was too much, even unconscious.

Taking a breath, she tried to pull away from him, without waking him up, but that only made him tighten his grip around her, pushing her even further into his, um, noticeable attribute.

She calmed the panicked feeling that rose in her.  
This really didn't have to be a big deal.

Damon was a male.  
And she knew that almost all guys had "problems" like that in the mornings.

So this was just a biological function, that shouldn't be intimidating in the least.  
Except it was.

Because she had been down that road before.  
Once upon a time, she'd actually _enjoyed_ that road.

Had used his morning arousal as a personal invitation to get him inside of her as often as possible.  
And that was before he'd went and grown a body that demanded female attention.  
Now it was torture.

She tried to wiggle out of his hold, and again, found that it was a poor decision, as he seemed to grow even harder.  
She swallowed.

Damon had always been well endowed, but she could tell just from the feel of him now that his muscles weren't the only thing that had doubled in size.  
And God help her, but she wanted to find out just how much of a difference there was.

Maybe it was the sex deprivation doing the thinking, but even so, a new heat covered her skin, and she suddenly felt a little too willing to stay where she was.

She could imagine it so easily.  
She could lift her body some…just the littlest bit, and that hard length would be pressing right against her aching center.

She pictured doing just that, then she'd proceed to rotate her hips, rubbing herself against him.  
Surely Damon would wake up to that.

And she had no doubt that he'd be more than willing to give her what she was silently begging for.  
It would be so easy for him to slide her shorts and panties down her legs.

For him to run his hand along the curve of her waist, over the skin of her back, and then finally, down, until he slipped a hand between their bodies, and discovered just how ready she was for him.

Maybe he'd tease her some, stroking her at an agonizing pace, until she was whimpering.  
Only then, would he remove his own underwear, and align himself at her entrance.

Elena closed her eyes, imagining exactly how it would feel.  
He'd lift her leg up, bringing it back to hook around his waist, before thrusting forward, filling her with all of that promising hardness.

God, the thought had her breathing hard.

The idea of Damon, moving, sliding in, then out of her, over and over…she'd come undone in no time, she was sure of it.  
And those muscles of his.  
She could only imagine the pounding he could exert with them.

His hips meeting hers each time he thrusted, until finally, he'd roll them, putting her on her knees on the mattress.  
Then his hands would grasp her waist, as he buried himself deep within her.

And his speed would increase, until she was moaning out her climax around his-

"Elena?"

She jumped, crashing from her fantasy as she realized she was grinding herself against his boner.  
And it had woken him up.

Embarrassment had her shooting from the bed, trying to put as much space between them as possible.

"Uh, hey," she tried, running a hand through her hair, "Sorry, I didn't mean to, um, wake you up…the alarm went off. And I should go wake up Chris."

His sleepy eyes cleared some as she stumbled over her words.  
"Are you okay?"

She laughed dryly.  
His question was so innocent, yet she was feeling everything but.

"Mhmm, yeah, perfect," she straightened herself, and began to walk around the bed, "I just need to make sure Christian isn't late."

But before she reached the door, he'd stood, and had a hold of her arm.  
"Elena, hold on."

She mentally swore at herself, but kept an expressionless face as she turned to look at him, "Hmm?"

His gaze was intense, as he lifted a hand to her cheek, "Are you sure you're alright? I mean, last night, you were pretty shaken up, and now you just…I just need to know you're okay."

She nodded, "I'm fine. Last night was just a bad dream…I'll get over it."  
He seemed unconvinced, "If you regret me being in here-"

She grabbed the hand that was on her face, and squeezed it, "Damon, no…I don't."

"Then why-"  
"I was just caught off guard," she insisted, "I wasn't expecting anyone to be in the bed with me and you were…well, it was just a little…distracting."

She didn't like the seemingly knowing gaze that he gave her.  
Nor the smirk that slowly crept up on his face.

"Sorry, then," he offered, "I didn't mean to make you jumpy."  
"I'm okay," she promised, "It wasn't that big of a deal"

His gaze dropped over her body, and he didn't even try to hide the obvious size up he was giving her. Then his blue irises landed back on her brown ones.  
"_Big_, huh?"

That was all it took for her face to turn scarlet again.  
Fuck her life.

He'd clearly been awake a second too long, and she could imagine he knew exactly what she'd been thinking about.  
What she'd been _doing_ with her subtle movements.

She bit her lip, "Um, yeah…well, uh, you might want to go get back in the bed you're supposed to be sleeping in. I really do need to wake up Chris, and I don't want him getting the wrong idea, if you catch my drift."

He grinned, "Yeah, we wouldn't want him to think I had my wicked way with you."

She tried to give him a stern face, "I'm serious, Damon. We need to be careful…I don't want Chris coming to the wrong conclusions about us."  
"Right," he nodded, "I can see how this would be _hard_ to explain."

She refused to let him tease her, but couldn't help but smirk a little as she rolled her eyes, "Just go back in there."  
He chuckled lightly, before nodding, and reaching for the door.

She shook her head, and followed.

* * *

Damon couldn't help but smirk to himself as he walked into the kitchen to make coffee.  
He was pretty sure she hadn't been doing it consciously, but there were worse ways to wake up than Elena rubbing herself against his erection.

Part him hadn't of wanted to say anything, once he realized what she was doing, but a second longer, and he would have had her underneath him, sliding into the one place she clearly couldn't help but want him.

But that wouldn't have been fair to either of them.

He wanted more than just her body, even though he definitely wanted that too.  
But he needed her trust first, and her heart.

He wanted to remind her of how good they'd been together.  
And once they'd worked out the messy stuff, they could focus on the more primal issues.

Though he still planned on giving her a hard time about it.  
Her blushing cheeks were too adorable not to.

Though, he'd at least keep it to a minimum when Chris was around, because, sadly, Elena was right.  
He didn't need their son getting the wrong impression.

Elena came into the kitchen then, still in her night shorts and tank top.  
"Is the coffee done?"

"Almost," he told her, and watched as she opened the cabinet, grabbing the pill bottle.

His brows pulled together, "Do you still have a headache?"  
She grabbed a glass, and filled it with water, "A little, but I think it's going away. It's definitely not as bad as it was yesterday."

He reached for her, pulling her into him, and pressed his lips to her forehead.  
"You're still warm," he told her, worriedly, "You had a fever last night, too, but I remembered you'd been drinking, so the pills wouldn't have been a good idea."

She nodded, "It's just a small fever. It'll probably be gone by lunch…but I need to get ready for work."

He eyed her, "Are you sure you need to go to the office if you're not feeling well?"  
She nodded, "I should. Really. I have a certain amount of hours to fill, and I've never missed them."

He considered this, "Can't you just work a little more, later in the week? I mean, you finished your article right? There's no harm in taking a day to rest, let yourself feel better."  
Plus he was feeling a little selfish, and wanted to keep her there with him.

"I guess I could," she reasoned, "I'd have to call Elijah though, let him know I'm changing my hours."  
Damon nodded, "Then do that. I think you should let your fever break before trying to do too much."

She gave him a look, "It wouldn't be the first time I've gone to work sick, Damon. I have bills to pay."  
He sighed, "I'm sure you've sacrificed your health plenty in the past. But I'm here now, and trust me, being a top selling music artist brings in its share of profit. I can help you."

She blinked at him, "You want to help with the bills? You haven't even been here that long. I'd feel bad if you had to-"  
"Elena," he stated, cutting her off, "I'm only trying to do what I should have been doing for the past decade and a half. I told you, I'm here for you now. To help support you, and Christian. Trust me, I can afford it."

He was rewarded with a hesitant smile, "Thank you."  
He smiled back, "I owe you so much more, but I figured this was a start."

Before she could answer, Christian joined them, fully dressed, but still rubbing his eyes.

"Food?"

Damon chuckled, "Yeah, just give me a second."

Chris nodded, taking a seat on one of the stools, and laying his head down on the island.  
Elena threw him a concerned look, "How late did you stay up last night?"

Chris's shoulder's shrugged, but he didn't look up, "I went to bed after Damon and I finished talking, then I texted April for a bit, and fell asleep."  
Elena nodded, "Well, get you some coffee or something. You look half dead."

He shot her a look, "Thanks."  
She shrugged, "Just saying. You don't need to go to school looking like a zombie."

Damon listened to them talk as he moved to start breakfast.

He was keeping it simple today, as he smiled at the light banter going on in the back ground.  
He rummaged through the fridge, grabbing yogurt, and an assortment of fruits.  
Then he proceeded to cut them into bite size pieces.

"What's that?" Chris asked, after realizing what Damon was doing.  
"Fruit salad. Fast and easy."

Chris appraised it, as Damon finished cutting a banana and added it to the good sized bowl he'd grabbed.  
Elena sipped her coffee as he finished with the fruit.

Finally, he scooped a good bit of yogurt out on top of the pile, and began to mix it all together.  
When he was satisfied, he grabbed two bowls and spoons, filling them.

"Bon Appetite," he stated, placing one in front of Chris, and the other in front of Elena.

Chris immediately downed his, even throwing out a compliment, before his ride showed up to take him to school.

An idea struck Damon just as his son reached the door.  
"Hey, Chris."  
The boy glanced back, "Yeah?"

"You want to invite April over for dinner tonight? I'd love to meet her."  
Christian blinked, deciding, "Uh, yeah, sure…I can ask her."

Damon nodded, "Alright. Just text later and let us know."  
"Okay," he shot, opening the door, "See you later."

Elena watched the interaction with a raised brow.

Once Chris was gone, she claimed Damon's attention, "What was that about?"  
Damon looked at her, "You don't mind, do you?"

She shook her head, "Of course not. April's a sweet girl. I was just wondering why the sudden dinner plan?"  
Damon shrugged, "Just trying to be a part of Chris's life. I'd say the girlfriend is a big part of that."

Elena eyed him, "I guess that's true…though I'm kind of curious as to what the two of you talked about last night. He's acting so much more relaxed around you."

That won a smiled from him, and her heart fluttered a bit.

"I'm hoping he will start to feel more at ease with me. And as for last night…I guess it was just the first time he heard my side of things."  
Her brow furrowed, "What do you mean?"

"Apparently Grayson left him with the impression that I'd used you for a quick fuck, then bailed as soon as I could. He didn't know anything about your dad talking to me, which isn't really that surprising, seeing as you didn't either. But still, Grayson has no right telling that boy any of his personal feelings. And I'm starting to think that that's where a lot of Chris's resentment came from."

Elena grew angry with her father.

"That wouldn't surprise me at all. But I didn't know Dad was talking to him about you…did he tell you what was said?"

Damon shrugged, "Only that I was made out to be the bad guy. Which, I guess in Grayson's opinion, I am."  
Elena shook her head, "He needs to mind his own business."

Damon didn't disagree, "I plan on having a talk with him eventually."  
Probably not a good plan though, "I understand why you would want to, but do you think that's smart?"

Damon sighed, "I don't want to go and point fingers at the guy, Elena. I just want to get all this shit out in the open. Let bygones be bygones, and all. He needs to understand that I'm here, and I plan on staying."

She smiled a little, loving that idea.

"Well, in that case, I guess it may not hurt. Though I can't promise he'll be as civilized."

Damon shrugged, "That's his problem. I just plan on telling him how things are going to be, and let him know that he's not welcome to fill my son's head with his personal vendetta."  
Elena nodded, "And I'll support you in that. He needs to let Chris make his own decisions…we all do."

Damon eyed her, "True…but we'll leave Grayson as a battle for another day. As for now, you need to start relaxing, let your fever die down."

She rolled her eyes at his insistence, "Yeah, yeah…and I still need to call Elijah first though."  
Damon nodded, "Well, go call him, then come back into the living room. I have an idea."

She eyed him suspiciously, "What kind of idea?"

He smirked in that drop dead way of his, "You'll see. But it involves my guitar and an old black book, so I'm sure you'll be happy with it."  
She smiled, "I'll make it a quick call."

Damon chuckled, "I'll be waiting."

* * *

**I NEEDED a little smut scene lol, but again, trying to keep it believable!  
Though I do think Elena would be insane not to fantasize about Damon, especially after a night of cuddling!  
But now that my fluff meter has been tamed lol...**

**What did you guys think?**

**Elena's fantasy?  
Damon's teasing?**

**How do you think Chris would react if they got together?  
Do you think they should give in to the attraction?**

**April's coming for dinner...is there anything you'd like to see happen, between the four?  
And what do you think Damon will plan for the day?**

**Review, review! Please? :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**So many wonderful reviews!**

**They make my day! :)**

**Hope you like!**

**BTW: Just a reminder that the songs are not mine! I totally stole from my top favorite song lists lol, and we are just going to "pretend" like Damon wrote them, kay? Okay! Thanks!**

* * *

Once Elena had called in and worked everything out, she made her way back into the living room, to find Damon sitting on one side of the couch.

He had an acoustic guitar under his arm, and was strumming some tune that was unfamiliar to her.  
When he took notice of her, he smiled, but continued to play.

She sat opposite of him on the couch, relaxing into the cushion as his melody filled the air.

"That's good," she encouraged, "Is that something from your book?"  
She noticed the black folder he use to carry spread open on the coffee table.

But he shook his head, "No, this was actually one of my earlier songs…after I left here."  
She considered this, "Which one?"

He stopped playing, then answered, "Here without you."

Her brow raised and he smirked, seeming almost embarrassed, "Yeah, I guess I wasn't being very subtle."

"You're music has always been tied to your emotions," she reminded him, "That's why it was so good…though it was a good few years before I worked up the nerve to listen to anything you put out…so I think I missed that one."

He nodded, "You inspired it, if that wasn't obvious."  
She smiled a little, "Play it for me?"

He swallowed, but nodded, and began strumming again.  
Seconds later, his voice joined with the music.

"_A hundred days have made me older  
Since the last time that I saw your pretty face  
A thousand lies have made me colder  
And I don't think I can look at this the same.  
All the miles that separate  
Disappear now when I'm dreamin' of your face._

_I'm here without you baby,_  
_But you're still on my lonely mind._  
_I think about you baby and I dream about you all the time._  
_I'm here without you baby,_  
_But you're still with me in my dreams_  
_And tonight girl, it's only you and me._

_The miles just keep rollin'_  
_As the people leave their way to say hello_  
_I've heard this life is overrated._  
_But I hope that it gets better as we go._

_I'm here without you baby_  
_But you're still on my lonely mind._  
_I think about you baby and I dream about you all the time._  
_I'm here without you baby_  
_But you're still with me in my dreams_  
_And tonight, it's only you and me._

_Everything I know, and anywhere I go,_  
_It gets hard but it won't take away my love._  
_And when the last one falls, when its all said and done._  
_It gets hard but it won't take away my love._

_I'm here without you baby_  
_But you're still on my lonely mind._  
_I think about you baby and I dream about you all the time._  
_I'm here without you baby_  
_But you're still with me in my dreams_  
_And tonight, it's only you and me."_

Elena felt speechless as his words played out, and had to close her eyes.

If there was one thing about Damon that never ceased to amaze her, it was the way he could portray his heart through the words he sang.  
It was part of what had her so crazy about him in the beginning.

And now, it filled her with the same bit of sorrow he'd probably originally intended for the song to carry.

"That was…heartbreaking," she replied honestly, once his hands left the instruments.  
He lifted his gaze to hers, "Possibly because I was heartbroken when I wrote it."

"There is that," she allowed, "So what else you got?"  
His brow lifted, "You want me to keep playing?"

She nodded, shifting on the couch, "To be honest, Damon, I could listen to you sing all day…I've kind of missed it."  
He smiled, then moved to stand, "I have an idea."

She eyed him curiously, "What kind of idea?"  
He picked his car keys off the table, "Get a jacket, and come with me."

"We're leaving?"  
He nodded, "I think some fresh air might do you some good."

Having no argument, she consented, "Alright."

He picked up his folder and guitar, while she grabbed her coat, and had the door open for her by the time she turned around.  
She stepped outside, the warmth of his body close behind.

* * *

Christian hated athletics.  
He hated football, and hated the fact that Coach Tanner hated him.

But some things couldn't be helped, so he jogged around the track, pretending to be interested in the asphalt beneath him, when really his mind was wandering.

All morning, he'd felt stubbed.

This might have had something to do with the fact that his favorite grandfather had been lying to him.  
Well, maybe not lying exactly, but Grayson knew exactly how Chris felt about Damon…and the man should have told him the truth.

He exhaled, his breathing hitched.

His immediate thought would have been to assume that Damon was lying, making up a story as a lame excuse to cover why he took off, but past his reflex blame of the man, Chris knew it had been true.

Everything Damon had said was the truth.  
Grayson had let him believe the worst, and Chris couldn't wrap his mind around that.  
What kind of a grandparent _wants_ their grand-kid to hate their parents?

Would manipulate them into thinking their own father was dirt, just because he disapproved of him nearly two decades ago?  
It just wasn't fair.

All of the adults in his life were idiots.  
Did they seriously think that the best choice for him was to keep Damon out of his life?

Was that not his decision to make?  
And did he not deserve to hear the truth?

Hell, so far, Damon was the only one who hadn't lied to him.

Well, Elena hadn't either…not really. But she could have been a little more clear on the fact that-  
Unless…she didn't know either.

Chris's eyebrows furrowed.  
Since Grayson had been a little too hush hush about his conversation with Damon, there was a good chance Elena didn't know the whole story either…just the watered down excuses Damon had given her back then to make her give up on them.

She didn't know that he'd left for her.  
Because he thought he was doing the right thing by her, even if I was a stupid move.

If she knew, surely she would have confronted Grayson about it.  
His mind flashed back to a few nights ago, at his grandparents.  
Had his mother and grandpa not been arguing upstairs?

What if she had found out?  
And if it was true…

Chris tried to put himself in their position.

If Damon had loved his mother, and idiotically left for misplaced nobility, then him coming back meant what?  
The right thing to do now would be to stay, and try to spark a relationship with his son, which admittedly, Damon was trying to do.

But where did that leave him with Chris's mom?

Surely they would both put two and two together.  
Damon left, to give her a better life, which clearly, was a failed attempt, and she had avoided everything about him, thinking that he left her out of boredom.

And it was clear that they still felt something.  
You could literally feel the stares they tossed at each other.

So much that he'd actually almost wanted to comment on it the night before, at the Salvatore's house.  
All throughout the meal, he'd catch them eye-locked, and had begun to wonder if they even realized they were doing it.

Even if they didn't, there was something there, and it could only be avoided for so long.  
Eventually, they would have to face where they stood with each other, and when that time came, he wondered what would come of it.

Would they try to work out a custody thing of him? Try to be friends, and raise him on equal footing?  
Or would they try and make it work again? Could they still love each other, after all his time?

And if they did, how did he even feel about that?

Not that self-reflection was his strong suit, but he figured it was best to deal with it out here, while distracting himself from the run for the next twenty minutes, than later, when he had too much time to ponder and question.

But the problem was, he didn't know how to react.  
Or what to think about any of it.

Because he and his mom had been fine for all these years. They'd had ups and downs, but they'd always pushed through, and had each other.  
If Damon was back in the picture, she wouldn't be just Chris's mom anymore.

And he wasn't sure how he would feel, knowing there was another man in her life.  
But if he was being honest, would it be much different than it had been these past few days?

Sharing her hadn't seemed so bad then.  
And if anyone was going to be with her, it might as well be his father.

It's not like he wanted her to die alone or anything, and Damon was obviously sticking around.  
So maybe he'd be okay with that…with them.

If it even happened, of course.  
But hell, with their track records, he'd be lucky if they survived a month without something stepping up to ruin everything.

Ha. A month.

He tried to imagine Damon still sleeping on his couch in a month.  
Being there every day, having dinner, watching tv, playing those stupid board games his mother insisted on keeping around.

Things being normal.

Then he tried to imagine Damon sleeping in his mother's bed in a month.  
The two of them getting together…and if he was torturing himself, getting married, later on.

Actually making them a family.  
There were worst things in life, of course.

Christian tried to imagine a family life style.  
Because as much as he loved and respected his mother, Elena was only one person.  
And she was more like his roommate than his Mom.

They had to work together to make things work…always.  
But with Damon…maybe she could relax a little.

Maybe they all could.

He pictured his baseball games, with Damon in the stands.  
The Founder's events, where he stood with Giuseppe and Stefan, bound by his unexplainable surname.

There had been so many times he'd wished Elena had made him a Gilbert instead of a Salvatore.  
He'd gotten sick of trying to explain himself all through Jr. High, and had been in a fair share of fights because of it.

But now Damon could be there, and Chris didn't have to be the bastard son of the wayward black sheep anymore.

He could be just like Tyler and Kol, and every other functional teenager at Mystic Fall's High.

Speaking of the devil…  
Kol came jogging up next to him.

"God, is this class almost over?" He groaned.  
Chris smirked, "Not tiring out yet, are you Mikaelson?"

"Not all of us enjoy this as much as you do," he shot back.

Chris kept his pace steady, "It's not about enjoying it. It's about keeping your mind off of it, and enjoying the benefits."

He could feel Kol's eyes rolling.  
"Yes, Chris, April has described to us all in full detail how much she appreciates your _totally hot bod_. No need to rub it in."

He smirked, but decided to change the subject, "Well, at least things will get better once baseball starts."  
"True," Kol agreed, "Then the coaches will finally get off their high horses about the football stars."

Chuckling, Chris threw him a look, "Well, seeing as one of our friends is one of those football stars, you might want to be careful with the insults."

"Yeah, yeah," he shrugged it off, "But Tyler's the one who chose to do football, track, and baseball this year. So if he hears me talking shit, it's mostly his own fault."

"Whatever you say man," Chris laughed, "Whatever you say."

* * *

Half an hour later, Damon parked the Camaro, and smiled at Elena's confused face.  
"Why did we come here?"

Her family's lake house was just as he remembered it, big, secluded, and brought right out of nature itself.  
All alone it was a welcoming sight, not even mentioning the landscaping they'd had done on the outside.

"I thought it would be good to get away," he explained, "Away from small town prying eyes. And besides, this place has a lot of good memories."  
She smiled a little, opening her door, and he followed her lead.

Although, once her door shut, she turned to him, "So, you know we can't get in, right? I mean, Dad has the keys, and it stays locked because they only use it on holidays and-"

"Elena," he cut her off, "I didn't come for the house."  
He nodded toward the dock, and she blushed, "Oh."

He could imagine everything passing through her mind, just as clear as it was passing through his own.

It had been her sixteenth birthday party.  
Grayson and Miranda had thrown a huge bash for her, here at the lake house, and as the night winded down, Elena had sweet-talked them into letting her, Caroline, and their friend Bonnie have a sleepover.

Damon remembered her pouting face, telling them that they'd be sure and pick up everything, and Caroline had a car, so they could come home the next day, and that she'd have her phone if there was an emergency.

They'd eventually agreed, with only two rules.  
No alcohol. No boys.

He wanted to laugh, because that had lasted all of about five minutes.  
Once the adults were gone for good, the whole gang had come back.

In the end, it had been a good size group of people, including himself, Elena, Caroline, Stefan, Bonnie, Matt, and Mason.  
There had indeed been alcohol, thanks to Mason, and it didn't take long for the music to start, and for the games to begin.

He'd been dating Elena for months at this point, and was head over heels for her.  
So in the middle of the night, he'd woken her up, telling her to sneak outside with him, so he could give her his present.

They'd gotten outside without waking anyone up, and he'd led her out to this very dock.  
Of course, he'd gone all out, with candles, rose petals, and even an assortment of chocolates.  
She'd loved all of it, and had been excited when he pulled out his guitar, and played the song he'd written especially for her birthday.

Of course one thing had then led to another, and before he could even register what was happening, she had pulled him down on top of her, their lips connecting as they made a bed of the blankets surrounding them.

He had taken her virginity that night, and lost his own.  
It was monumental to say the least, to be so connected with one person…back when sex actually meant something to him.

He knew that night, once they had finished, and laid in each other's arms, looking at the stars, that he was never going to be able to shake this girl.  
She'd wrapped herself in his heart, and he'd always love her.

She would always be his first.  
Just as he would always be hers.

"You know, I never have been able to look at this place the same," Elena's voice pulled him from the memory, "Each time I've been out here…it's the first thing that comes to mind."

He adjusted the guitar on his back so he could take a seat, and she sat across from him.  
"It was pretty special," he offered, and she nodded.

"So were we."

He couldn't find a comment to that, so he did the next best thing he could.

He settle the guitar under his arm, and he played for her.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did!**

**Please leave a review and let me know what you thought!**

**Chris's thoughts?  
Delena song, and memories at the lake house.  
What do you think will happen next?**

**And just saying, I loved writing a big scene in the next chapter! ;)**


	22. Chapter 22

**I am in love with this chapter!  
Seriously, it's one of my favorites! :)**

**Oh, and just saying, Chris and April may be a bit suggestive sometimes, and I just want to be clear that I'm not trying to offend anyone.  
Yes, I get it...they are young and shouldn't be doing dirty things, but hello, has anyone ever tried to make a teenager listen when it comes to sex?  
If so, you probably know how well that works.**

**Not saying that all teens are sex crazy, but I'm trying to be realistic, and a boy who has no strict parental influence is going to do almost whatever he wants.**

**So yeah...**

**Anyway, on with the story.. I hope you guys like!**

* * *

Chris found April at her locker after fifth period.

"Hey you," he smiled.  
She looked up at him, "Hey yourself."

"So, I have a question for you," he started, interested in why Damon wanted her over for dinner, but would use any excuse to see her in a place that wasn't school.

"No, Chris, I'm not going to finish your Algebra again. I've told you, if you don't know how to do it, you need to talk to Mrs. Anderson, because it's too hard to explain how we somehow get the same exact grade on every homework assignment, yet never on the test. I told you this last time you asked and-"

He leaned in, pecking her lips, "That's not what I was going to ask."  
She smiled a little, "Okay, then what?"

He bit his lip, "Do you maybe want to come over for dinner tonight? At my house?"  
Her brow raised, "On a school night? What's the occasion?"

He shrugged, "Damon wanted me to invite you."  
The shock was evident on her face, but it was soon replaced by a grin, "That sounds great."

"So you'll come?" he verified.  
She nodded, "Yeah! I'll have to ask my Dad of course, but I don't think he'd mind. He knows your Mom well enough to believe that she wouldn't let us do anything sinful."

Chris smirked, "Like that stopped us before…"  
She smacked his arm, "Shh, he doesn't exactly know about our…extracurricular activities. And he doesn't need to find out via gossip."

She glanced around, and Chris chuckled, "Like anyone is really listening to us. Besides, what can he do? We're both minors. It's not like he can toss us in jail. And I'm probably already going to hell in a hand basket, so I doubt he can do much damnation to my eternal soul either."

She shook her head, "No, but he can ground me for the rest of my life, and tell your mother, who if you forgot is already juggling a lot. She doesn't need my Dad breathing down her back about her poor parenting choices, which you know is exactly what he'll do."

Chris scoffed, "Yeah, yeah, you made your point. Fine. No more sexy talk in the hallway."  
Smiling, she gave him a small kiss, before throwing her bag over her shoulder, "Thank you. Now, I'll text him during lunch and let you know what he said."

"Okay, sounds good…see you next period?"  
She nodded, letting him kiss her head before turning to go to her class down the hall.

He watched her for a moment, hoping the pastor would be generous today.

* * *

Elena was having entirely too good of a time.  
Damon had played a few songs from his book, then some of his more recent ones.

Afterwards, they'd talked for a while, him telling her stories about him and his friend Alaric, who was still in L.A.  
Apparently it had been a bit of a wild ride over the years.

She loved listening to his stories though, hearing about his life.

It made her feel a little better about giving him that freedom, even though he rightfully insisted that he'd have preferred to be a part of his son's life.  
And she knew without a doubt that he would have been a good father.

Even in the short time he's known Chris, he'd proven that he was willing to do anything for just the chance to know him.  
And anytime Elena mentioned him, Damon's eyes lit up.

She just wished that they'd known everything they knew now, back then.  
She told him so, and Damon chuckled.

"Now why does that sound like a country song waiting to happen?"  
She grinned, "Well you would know, wouldn't you?"

He smirked.

A cool breeze blew off the water and made her shiver.  
Immediately, Damon was taking off his leather jacket, "Take this."

She shook her head, "No, it's okay, I'm fine."  
He insisted though, "I didn't bring you out here so you could get even more sick, Elena. Just take it."

Sighing, she did as he asked, using it as a blanket to wrap around herself.  
Damon's smell hit her nostrils, and she sighed, millions of memories coming forth.

"So why exactly did you bring me out here?" she inquired, "Really? It wasn't just to avoid running into people."

He was silent for a moment, looking out over the water.  
"I guess this just feels more like common ground."

Her eyebrows pulled together, "Meaning?"

He finally looked at her, "Elena, I was gone a long time. I was stupid, and avoided everything about this town. I just wanted to put everything behind me, try to start a new life, where I could be someone else…but it didn't exactly work. Mystic Falls is still my home…but it's different now."

"How so?"

He sighed, "Mom and Dad have always had their own thing going, but you know my old room has been turned into a storage closet? Seriously. My bed is a maze behind ribbons, boxes, and lampshades."

She chuckled a little, but didn't interrupt.

"I guess I didn't expect things to be exactly the same…but seeing all these kids running around, knowing that most of the people we went to school with are long gone…it's just different. Then my home isn't even my home anymore…it's my parent's house. Not that I mind, but that's why it was kind of nice when you offered to let me stay with you and Chris. It actually gives me a chance to make a difference…you know, be here with a purpose."

She nodded, "So what's the problem?"

He ran a hand through his hair, "The problem, is that it isn't really mine either. You and Christian have this entire life, this routine worked out, and I'm suddenly dropping right in the middle of it. I'm glad, don't get me wrong! I want to be there, for Chris, and for you. I love getting to know him…but I'm still a stranger in so many ways. I guess I'm just still trying to work out where I fit in all of this."

His gaze dropped, and her heart ached.

Without hesitation, she reached over and took his hand, "You fit right here, Damon. None of us know what we're doing, but that's okay. We'll take it one day at a time, until it isn't as complicated."

He smiled a little, nodding, "You're right…but anyway, that's why I chose to come out here. I just figured that if this dock was still here, there was at least one place that you and I could be that is untouched by time. It's ours…a place where we can just be us, and not have to think about how nothing is ever going to be the same again."

"Nothing ever _is_ going to be the same," she noted, finding her own eyes drifting across the water, "Things change Damon…that's life. This dock…this lake…it's a window to a simpler time, true, but it's still the past. Just like the current here, time is going to keep pushing us, changing things…and we can't stop it, even if we wanted to."

He nodded, "You're right, we can't. But that's what makes it so beautiful, Elena. Each moment that slips by us is one that we can never get back. It's a chance that's lost to us forever…so how can that do anything except make each one we do take all the more special?"

His eyes were darkened, and she got the feeling that they were talking about more than the lake here.  
Something that she wasn't quite ready to face.

She sighed, pulling herself to her feet, "It's getting a little cold…can we go back to the car?"  
He held her gaze for a second too long before nodded, and picking up his guitar as he stood.

She could feel his eyes on her as she walked in front of him, back to the Camaro.  
She opened the back seat, and sat his jacket inside, shrugging off her own as well.

"I thought you were cold?" he pointed out, following her lead, and putting his guitar in the back seat.  
"I am," she insisted, "But that thing is a little stiff, and I'm sure the car will be warm in no time."

She reached for the passenger door, but Damon hit the lock button on his keys before she could open it.

Blinking, she looked back at him, "What?"  
He crossed his arms, "Reason two behind getting you out here…"

She waited.

"We need to talk about last night…and this morning."

She swallowed, her cheeks turning red, "There's nothing to talk about."  
"The hell there isn't," he pressed, "You can play coy all you want Elena, but we need to talk about it."

"No we don't," she practically begged, "This morning meant nothing, and last night was just a nightmare, we just-"

"It was more than a damn nightmare," he insisted, "You were scared, Elena…scared that Chris was going to leave you...that I was going to leave you."  
"It was a dream, Damon, it didn't mean anything."

His mouth was set, "Fine, I won't sugar coat it."  
"Sugar coat what?" she demanded.

He uncrossed his arms, stepping forward until her body was trapped between him and the car, "I don't want to pretend that we don't feel anything, like we never meant anything to each other."

Her breath was caught, "I…I told you. We can't worry about us right now…Chris needs-"

"Chris needs his parents," he shot, "He needs both of us in his life. And he's going to have that either way. We don't have to work on being besties for his sake, Elena. We're two grown adults with a hell of a history. We owe it to ourselves to be happy, and I _want_ you. I want to spend every night in that bed with you, and not have to sneak out in the morning so Chris doesn't get the wrong idea…I want to be there to help you, and not just with our son…with everything. I want you in my life too, not just him. I want you _both_. And I need to know-I _have _to know…if you want the same."

Elena swallowed, trying to clear her mind with him pressed against her this way, "Damon, I…"

She wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't sure what she _could_ say. Every thought in her mind just seemed confused and jumbled, and his commanding tone wasn't helping.

His chest fell as he sighed, his expression hardening, "Got it."

He pulled away then, and she caught the hurt in his eyes, as he went to move around the car.  
She flinched, "No, Damon, wait…"

He paused near the trunk, and she walked over to him, "Look, I don't know what I want, okay? I haven't had time to figure that out, and you can't expect me to just know," she looked directly into his eyes, "You hurt me, Damon."

"And you kept our son a secret from me, Elena. Neither of us can claim to be innocent in this mess. But unlike you, I'm not trying to hide from it."

She felt a flash of anger rise in her, "You think I'm hiding?"

"I think you're scared," he amended, "Scared to take the risk you'd have to in order to trust me. And I get that, I do, but I can't change the way I feel Elena. Hell, I can't ignore the fact that I am actually feeling again! This whole decade has been a drag for me. One concert to another to another with some parties in between…it's a sick cycle that I've been wasting away in…because I was scared too, Elena. Scared to come back, to accept that I was the one who did this. Who ruined a perfectly good thing in a moment of weakness…but I'm trying to make it right."

He exhaled, stepping closer to her, "Now you can keep on pretending like whatever this is, whatever we've been doing since we saw each other again means nothing, but I can't. I can't pretend with you…not after everything we've already lost."

Her gaze was on the ground as his words overwhelmed her.  
Every bone in her was screaming to fall into his arms, let him take care of her, love her, and give her the world on a silver platter, but she couldn't.

She'd stopped believing in fairytales a long time ago, when the disappointment had became too much.

She brought her eyes to his, "You can say whatever you want about these epic moments, where we can change our lives…but in the end, they are still just moments, Damon. They'll come and they'll go, just like people."

He swallowed, "So that's what this is? You don't think I'll stay? Because a few minutes ago, you were telling me that I fit in here, with you, and with Chris."

"You do," she assured him, "But that's the problem! I can see it, Damon! Every damn thing you're telling me, I can see it. And yes, it scares the hell out of me! Because you do belong with us...with me. I've never felt anything for anybody what I still feel for you, but I can't give in to that! No matter how much every single part of me wants to, I can't! I can't let myself fall back in love with you, because I can't live through another heartbreak when I have to realize that I can't keep you, all over again."

The tears that sprang to her eyes only infuriated her more, and she hurried to wipe them away.

"What else do I have to do to prove to you that I'm not going anywhere?" he asked, "Because it seems like giving it time isn't going to make much of a difference if you've already decided to wait in the wings for that other shoe to drop. It's not fair to either of us, Elena, so please, just fucking tell me what I can do to get us past this?!"

"I don't know!" She cried, "You think I like feeling like this? You think I _want_ to keep pushing you away? To place my heart on hold just so I can keep it together? Because I don't. It sucks! And it's your fault! I have major trust issues because of you, you know?! I have barely dated anyone, even after Chris was older. I've had sex all of three times in the past ten years, and I never trusted myself to try and look for love again. You _took_ that from me!"

"Elena-", he started, but she shook her head.

"I am _not _done. You wanted to talk, well guess what, we're gonna talk! Because I am so sick and fucking _tired _of keeping all of this inside!"

He didn't comment, so she continued, "Eight years, Damon. That's how long it took me to realize that you were never coming back. Eight fucking years, of raising Christian, of having to look into his eyes, _your _eyes, every day, and know that I'd screwed up. I didn't tell you about Chris when I found out about the pregnancy, and after all these years, I didn't know how to just pop up into your life and be all 'Oh, by the way, you have a son.' I can admit that I made a mistake, but none of that would have even mattered if you hadn't of lied to me! You told me that it would be okay, Damon! You told me that we'd be fine, and then you came back for Christmas and ruined everything!"

"I thought I was protecting you," he defended, "I didn't _want_ to hurt you, Elena!"

"No, you just let my father run doubts through your head. God, Damon, you should have known better! There was nothing in the world that was more important to me than you! I would have followed you through anything. I never needed money, or fame, or anything but you!"

"But you deserved all of that, Elena," he declared, "You deserved so much more than what I could give you!"

She shook her head, "I never wanted it! I only wanted you! And I want so much to hate you, for taking it all away, for nearly destroying me, but I can't, and I just- _Urgh_!"

She huffed, trying to calm herself.

Damon's hand was on her arm then, "It's okay to be angry…"

She pushed him away, "I'm not angry, Damon, I am _pissed_ off! And I hate it! I hate having to be so put together, all the time! I hate having to look and act perfect, just to get through! You think you hate pretending? Ha! I've been doing it my entire life, Damon! I'm so sick of it! I hate it! But I can't stop being pissed! No matter how much I want to get over it, I can't!"

He grabbed her hand, "Then take it out on me!"

"What?"

His eyes were on fire, "Use me, Elena…let me help you."

She pulled at his grasp, "Let go of me."

He only brought her hand to his chest, "Let me bare this for you, baby."  
She wanted to scream, "You don't get to call me that anymore!"

His hand tightened on hers, "Let go, Elena…just let go."

And god help her, but she did.

She raked her nails down his chest, hard enough to have drawn blood from beneath his shirt.  
Then she brought her free arm up, slapping him, right across the face.

Something inside of her came loose then, and she did scream.  
She screamed as tears fell freely down her face, and she just started swinging, hitting every part of him that she could reach.

Blinded by pain and fury, she lashed out, until finally, his arms came around her, locking her body against his own.

Then before she even knew what she was doing, she was grabbing his face, pulling him down, until their lips met.  
He kissed her hard, and she clung to him with everything she had as she fell apart.

It was heaven and hellfire, scorching her with it's intensity.  
And God, if it wasn't everything she remembered, and so much more.

Her body knew his.  
Still, after all these years, it knew exactly how to mold into him, how to fight against his mouth for dominance, and how to stop herself from imploding in the passion.

His hands clamped onto her waist, and suddenly she was lifted, as he sat her on the trunk of the car, and stepped between her legs.  
She wrapped them around his waist, her fingers diving into his hair, as he gave back everything she was demanding from him.

Everything she felt was him, and she hated this as much as she loved it.  
Her nails dug into his neck, and he growled against her mouth.

So she bit his lip.

And he yanked her hair, settling her against his mouth the way he wanted.

These little punishments for everything they'd suffered because of each other.

It was exactly what she wanted, what she knew it would be.  
But even still, it wasn't right…not like this.

She pulled away, shoving him back, forcefully.

Once some air came between them, she sobered, staring at him.  
Damon was breathing hard, his hair a mess, his shirt ripped, and blood was dripping from his lip.

She had never wanted him more.

But it couldn't be like this.  
"Not this way," she huffed, trying to catch her own breath, "We can't…not like this."

He nodded slowly, understanding.

She slid off the trunk, and straightened her own clothes.  
Damon closed the space between them, cupping her cheek, "We'll figure this out, Elena...we _will_ find our way back to each other."

She nodded, and he pulled her against him.

The tears were there again, and she didn't bother to fight them.  
There was no point.

So instead, she let Damon wrap his arms around her, and she held onto him.

And as he whispered, "I'm so sorry," over and over, somehow, her heart began to hurt a little less.

* * *

**Progress!**

**Okay, admit it, this chapter was AWESOME! Lol, I'm seriously in love with the way it turned out!**

**So what did you think?**

**Elena finally letting go?  
Damon wanting her to use him to bare the pain that he caused her?  
The KISS?!**

**Leave a review with your thoughts please! :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**I love love love your reviews!  
Reached 400 so fast! You guys are amazing!**

**Okay, sorry for the notes, but I wanted to clear something up.  
In the U.S, you can only be prosecuted for statutory rape if you are over the age of consent, sleeping with a person under the age of consent.**

**Chris is 15, turning 16. A Minor.  
April is 15. A Minor.**

**Both are under the age of consent, which is 18 in Virginia.**

**There is a law for Virginia that allows minors, of the ages 15-17 to engage in sexual activities without prosecution, if their partner is under the age of 18.  
Most states have also inacted the "Romeo and Juliet" law, to excuse persecution of minors for having sex with minors.**

**So though personally, I don't condone it, it is pretty certain that Christian can't be tried for statutory rape, or arrested, or put in jail, or ****registered as a sex offended, seeing as he is also a minor.**

**However, Damon could have been, seeing that he was 18 when Elena was 16.**

**So Damon understands the risks, not to mention that it resulted in a teen pregnancy back then, so he will definitely have some things to say to Chris when it all comes out.**

**Anyway, just wanted to clear that up.  
Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Damon could barely watch the road, as he was so entranced by the woman next to him.  
Elena's mood had improved since they left the lake house, and she was now singing along to the radio.  
Her voice was still so beautiful.

He sighed.  
Eventually, he knew they had to talk about what had happened.

She had finally let down that wall that kept her emotions locked up from him.  
He just hadn't realized how much he had hurt her.  
How much pain she had suffered.

But he would make it up to her, a thousand times over.  
He had to.

They still felt something for each other, and he had to give them a chance to really be together.  
And if that kiss was any proof, it would definitely be worth the wait.

God, he could still feel her on his lips, and knew that he wanted that again.  
Needed that again.

He'd never felt anything like the passion that bloomed between them, and he wanted her more than he had ever wanted anything.  
And he would have her.  
One day, they would be a family, the way they were meant to be all along, with Christian.

They pulled into the drive of her house, and got out of the car.  
She looked over at him and he held her gaze.

Finally she sighed, "I'm sorry about your shirt."  
He looked down, noticing the rip down the front of his black button up.

He ran a hand across it, and glanced up at her, "Well, it's not like it's the first piece of clothing you've ripped off of me."  
Her blush made him smirk, and she shook her head, as they made their way inside.

She unlocked the door, and let them in, their unspoken words were as thick as they were obvious.

He cleared his throat, just as she began to speak.  
"We should talk...really talk."

He shook off whatever he was about to say, and nodded, "Yeah, okay."

She sat down on the couch, motioning for him to join her.  
Once he was seated, facing her she sighed.

"You were right…about me hiding…," her eyes were on the floor, but he knew she'd say what she needed, "I think it's just easier, than dealing with all of this. Easier to act like we can just be friends, and skip the hard part…"

"But we can't," he acknowledged, "I hurt you too badly."

She nodded, "And I hurt you, by keeping Chris from you…the only difference is, you've had a week to deal with it. I've been repressing everything I've felt for the past fifteen years, and I don't want to do that anymore…I can't. Not with you."

"I don't want you to," he admitted, "I want us to be able to move past this. You know where I stand…what I want."

"And you know that I want the same," she insisted, finally meeting his gaze, "I want to give Chris a proper family. I want to have someone in my bed again, and I want to remember what it was like to be in love with you…but we have to give it time, Damon. We're fooling ourselves into thinking that that could just happen, without considering all of the variables."

His brows furrowed, "If you're worried about Chris-"

"It's not _just_ Chris, Damon," she told him, "It's me. I can't just jump into something like this. I've worked hard to get where I am, and for the most part, I have a happy life. You can't just expect me to jeopardize everything, by going out on a limb and putting my faith in you. Because if for some reason it doesn't work, I'm the one that's going to lose everything, and Chris would be hurt in the process, and I can't let that happen."

Damon nodded, "I understand that, believe me, I do. I know that it's going to take a lot longer than a week for us to get where we need to be. I'm not expecting you to immediately trust me. But I want the chance to prove to you that you can. And not just with Chris."  
He leaned forward, taking her face in his hands, "But with you as well."

Her eyes closed, "I gave my heart to you once Damon, and you broke it."

"I know," he used his thumb to catch the tear that was sliding down her cheek, "And I can't even give you an apology that would encompass how much I regret what I did. If I could change the past, I would Elena, but I can't. And I hate that, because you trusted me and I hurt you."

Her watery gaze held his as he continued, "But if it means anything, my heart broke that day too. I really did think that I was doing the best thing I could…but it was a lie. I wussed out, Elena, convinced that I'd ruin you…but I guess I did that anyway...I am so sorry…but you are the strongest person that I know, and the way you managed to survive, to do this on your own…it's amazing."

Her hand came up, covering his, "I don't want to be angry anymore."  
He chuckled slightly, "I don't want you to be angry anymore either, sweetheart. I also don't want you to be in pain…so whatever you need me to do, I'll do it."

She shook her head, "How am I even supposed to know what I need?"

His thumb still caressed her skin, as he asked, "What is it that you want?"  
She swallowed, "You shouldn't ask me that."

His eyes held hers, "I am only asking that you let me be here for you," his eyes drifted down toward her lips, and she became increasingly aware of how close their bodies had gotten, "I just want to ease your pain, Elena. Help fix the mess I made of your heart."

He heard her breathing hitch as he slowly leaned in, whispering, "But I need you to let me help you. Let me be here for you…let me make it better."

Her eyes had closed, and he pressed his lips against hers.  
Unlike the first time, there was no raw emotion.

This wasn't about their built up lust, it was comfort.  
They both needed this. Had needed it for so long…

Elena hesitated slightly, her mouth barely moving against his, almost nervous.  
But if nothing else, he could give her this.

So he slid an arm around her shoulders, pulling her body against his, shifting so she fit into him.  
Her hands came up to his jaw then, cupping it, as she pulled his mouth harder against hers.

He kissed her good, almost as if their lips moving in sync would hold her together.

She moaned a little, against his mouth, and he had to use all the self-discipline in his body not to ruin this moment by taking her to the floor.  
Sex wasn't what this was about.

She needed him, his comfort, and to know that he wasn't going anywhere.  
He had to reassure her of that first.

So he kissed her, slowly, burningly, giving her an outlet for all those pent up feelings.  
He was just happy that she was leaning on him, letting him take care of her.

Then maybe one day, she'd let him take care of her body's other needs as well.  
But for now, this was perfect.

Her tongue darted out, sliding across his bottom lip, and he smiled as he gave her access.  
It was hard to let her set the pace, when he was so use to taking control, but she seemed to read him well enough that it didn't matter.

Her tongue danced with his own, as he tangled his hand in her hair, and pulled her taunt.  
He felt as though he should pray in reverence to whatever God had answered his prayers.

Having Elena like this was a dream he thought he'd long since lived through.  
But somehow, here he was, with her in his arms, kissing her like his life depended on it.

Not that she seemed to mind, and he certainly wasn't complaining.

Until his phone rang, shattering the bliss that had surrounded them.  
"Fuck," he groaned, pulling away from her.

Elena let him go, her chest lifting as she tried to regain her breath.  
He dug in his back pocket, finally pulling the damn thing out, and read the I.D

Alaric Saltzman. Great.

Sliding a finger across the screen, he answered.

"It's not a vacation if the boss is calling at the end of each week," he stated, and heard Alaric's chuckle.

"Oh, can it, Damon, I was just checking on you. As a friend, not an employer."

Damon smirked.  
If there was anything he was going to miss in L.A, it would be his drinking buddy.

"Well, I'm alive."  
"Good to know," Ric stated, "It's good that you finally got to visit your family."

"Mmhm," Damon agreed, raking his eyes over Elena.  
Her lips were swollen, and if she didn't stop biting them like that, he was going to hang up on his friend and put them into a compromising situation.

"So how's that going?" Alaric wondered.  
Damon sighed, "Um, well, to be honest….it's a little complicated."

"How so?" he asked, his tone serious.

Damon knew that he was going to have to explain everything to the guy anyway.  
So he sighed, "Hold on Ric."

Looking at Elena, he took her hand, "I need to go deal with this…I'll be right back."  
When she nodded, he kissed her head, then stood, making his way to the door.

* * *

Elena watched Damon step outside, and shook her head.  
If she wasn't careful, she was going to fall head first for that man.

But she couldn't afford that yet.  
That didn't stop it from feeling so right, though.

She brought a finger up to her lips.  
Damon could _kiss_, she'd certainly give him that, because she was still on fire from his touch.

She enjoyed it a lot more than she should, but how could something so good be wrong?  
Was she making a mistake in putting "them" on hold, until she could sort herself out?  
Or was it the smartest thing to do?

Was she thinking about this from a rational standpoint, or a lust filled mind?  
It was so hard to be sure.

However, the one thing that she _was _certain about, was that Damon still meant something to her, even after all this time.  
She couldn't deny that.

Just as she couldn't deny that she wanted him…in more ways than just in the bedroom.  
Not that that wouldn't be amazing if they finally made it there.

She and Damon had always had a fire between them.  
The problem was avoiding the burn.

And maybe it was good to take it slow, for just that reason.

If they were going to have any chance at a real relationship, they were going to have to work at it, build on it, and make sure the fire stayed limited.  
Or they'd burn out before they even really had a chance.  
And she cared too much to let that happen.

* * *

"What do you mean you have a son?!" Alaric demanded.

Damon rolled his eyes, "You heard me the first three times."  
"Yeah, I heard you," Ric agreed, "I'm just having trouble wrapping my mind around it…how old is he?"

"Fifteen," he stated.  
"Fuck, Damon."  
Damon smirked, "Yeah, tell me about it."

"How could you not know you had a kid?" Alaric questioned.  
"Elena kept it a secret…asked everyone else too as well. Apparently she had wanted to tell me herself, but seeing as I spent the past decade and a half avoiding her…"

"Shit," Ric sighed.

"You realize what I'm telling you, don't you?" Damon prodded.  
Alaric was silent for a moment, "As your friend, I'm sure I do, but as your boss, I'm hoping I'm wrong."

Damon sighed, "My music has been the only thing in my life for years, Ric…but this is my family. My _son_. I can't just leave."

"Of course you can't!" Alaric huffed, "But that doesn't stop us from being put in a bind here…I'm sure you're aware that you are still under contract."  
Damon had thought about this already, "All the contract requires is that I produce a set amount of hits per year, and I can do that from here just as easily as I can from my apartment up there."

"What about your recordings?" Alaric pressed, "Your concerts? And benefit performances. Not to mention tours, label signings, press conferences…"

"I'll fly up to L.A as many times as I need to," Damon told him, "But we are going to have to work something out, Ric. It's safe to say that I'm the biggest name the company has ever put out. I don't want to drop you, but you know that I have the money to break the contract if I have to."

Ric groaned, "Hopefully it won't come to that."  
A sigh, "Okay, well just finish your month in Virginia. I'll call you in a few weeks, and you can fly up here so we can work something out for a more permanent arrangement. Sound good?"

Damon nodded, even though the guy couldn't see him, "That works for me."

"Alright…take care of yourself, Damon."  
He smirked, "Save me some Bourbon."

* * *

Elena had pulled out everything in her fridge that could go on a deli sandwich, and was building a masterful creation when Damon finally came back through the door.

"In here," she called out.  
He came into the kitchen then, "Lunch?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I thought this would be easy, and it's a guarantee that I can't ruin it."  
He chuckled, coming up behind her, "A sandwich actually sounds really good right now."

She could feel his eyes on her body, and wasn't surprised when his hands slid around her waist, pulling her back against his hard form.  
She sat down the knife she'd used to spread out the mayo, and let herself lean against him.

He set back against the counter, using it to support their weight.

"So, who was that?"  
His chin rested on the top of her head, "Alaric…the friend that I work for."

Elena stiffened, an apparently Damon noticed.

"Everything's fine," he said quickly, "He was just checking on me…but I had to tell him about Chris. I had to explain that things had changed."  
She nodded, "Is he angry?"

"No," Damon assured her, "He gets it…but he's wanting me to fly back to L.A, after this month, so we can work something out."  
She turned in his arms, "What does that mean?"

He shrugged, "We'll find out then…but I'm hoping we can find a way for me to meet their quota, and stay here, in Mystic Falls."  
Her gaze fell, "And if that's not possible? What then?"

Damon's finger slid under her chin, lifting her eyes, "Hey…I'm not going anywhere. I told you that. If Ric needs to see me, then I'll make the trip, but then I'm coming right back, to you."

She shook her head, "You can say that now, but what about when you are away from us, back in all the fame and stardom…will you still feel this way?"

"Of course I will," he promised, "I'll need to make the trip out of necessity, but I'm coming home to you and Chris. I give you my word."

She nodded, "I want to believe you…but I'm scared Damon. You want me to believe that just because you said it, and I'm not sure I can."

"That's okay," he assured her, "I'll just have to prove it to you. I'm in this for the long run, Elena. I'm not going to leave Christian, or you ever again…but I'd also like to keep my career. And if there is a way for me to work that out, while staying in Mystic Falls, then I have to try."

Again she nodded, "Yeah you're right…"  
She couldn't expect him to give up his life's work, even though he made it clear that he was willing to do so, if needed.  
But if he could find a way to still play his music, and be in Chris's life…in her life, then she wanted that for him…she owed him that.

"I hope it works out," she told him, truly meaning it.  
He smiled kindly, running his hands down her side, "Me too, but luckily, we still have a month before it even becomes an issue. So let's not worry about it, okay?"

She nodded, "If that's what you want."  
He smirked, his hands gripping her hips, pulling her flush against him again, "Baby, what I want right now is a little simpler than that."

She blushed, as his mouth captured her own again.  
He kissed her much like he had the last time, slow and hot, teasingly.

With an exhale, she pulled away.  
"Damon-"

He seemed to fight with himself, before taking a breath and leaning back from her, "You aren't ready…"

She cupped his face, "It's not that…not at all. I just think that we should take this, you know, a little slower."  
A little smirk played on his lips, "Elena, we've been taking it slow for fifteen years now."

"That doesn't count," she insisted, "I'm being serious. I think slower would be best right now."  
He leaned down, his lips drifting over her neck, "I can do slow, if you want."

She had to focus as he began trailing kisses across her throat at an agonizing pace.  
"That's…that's not what I meant," she managed, "This, all of it, has to slow down."

He pulled away then, and she took that moment to step back, knowing that she'd think more clearly if her body wasn't pressed directly against those bulging muscles.  
He sighed, "Okay, slow then...but does that mean that you are agreeing that there is something going on?"

She smiled at his hopeful expression, "I'm agreeing that something might happen, or could be happening. But we need to slow down, and let it happen naturally. Not force it because we want to skip to the good parts."

Luckily, he didn't tease her about that, even though the smirk was back on his face.

"It's the only way this, whatever it is, will work between us," she insisted.  
He nodded, "Okay, fine…if that's how you want it, then we'll go slow…but I need to know what's allowed at this stage. What you're okay with, and what I need to avoid."

She exhaled, "I really don't know….I can't explain this right, or put limitations on it. I just know that we can't jump head first into this…not when Chris is involved too."

Damon eyed her for a moment, then seemed to decide something.  
"Okay, you're right. Chris still has to come first."

She nodded, "Yes."

"So he'll come first," Damon promised, "But right now, he's not here, and I need to kiss you again. So if that isn't allowed in this slow burning phase tell me now."

She bit her lip, overheated by the intensity in his eyes, to the point where she could only nod.  
Because she needed to kiss him too.

Never one to disappoint, Damon grabbed her face, then slowly and deliberately kissed her.  
It wasn't demanding or hard like the others, and he pulled away a little too soon.

"There," he breathed, "Slow."

Then before she could answer, he had kissed her forehead, and moved to the other side of the island.

Blinking, she turned to look at him, only to find him holding up the deli meat.  
"So," he asked, "Turkey or Ham on your sandwich?"

She smiled a little at how normal he played this.  
As if they hadn't just made some sort of phenomenal breakthrough in their tedious relationship.

But the simplicity calmed her, and she simply answered, "A little of both please."  
He nodded, and proceeded to help her make the food.

Like a regular couple, for a regular lunch, waiting for their child to come home.  
Maybe this really could work.

* * *

**Okay, so more kisses, some relationship defining, and a little fluff! This was a simple chapter, and I felt like they really needed it! **

**Hope you guys enjoyed!**

**Please please review! :)**


	24. Chapter 24

**I'm so surprised at how fast this story is moving, yet still being a bit of a slow burn.**

**Though things will be picking up soon! ;)**

**Hope you guys like!**

* * *

April rolled her eyes as Tyler continued to obsess about the end of the football season.

If he wasn't such good friends with Christian, she wouldn't even bother acknowledging him or his overly "I'm a jock" attitude.  
She couldn't stand people who thought they were better than everyone else.

"So, Chris is supposed to meet us out here, right?" she asked, her arms crossing as she leaned against Tyler's car.

"That's what he said," Tyler nodded, turning back to Kol, "But seriously man, that last throw would have landed us in State if Harper would have caught it! I can't believe he fumbled that again!"

"Yup, really tragic," Kol droned, winking at April.  
He hated the sport just as much as she did.

"Really, though," Tyler pressed, "You and Chris can both catch better than that guy. I have no idea why Coach moved him up to Varsity."

"A mystery that dumbfounds us all," April assured him, standing straight as Chris came into view.  
Kol spotted him as well, and took it as an excuse to end Tyler's rant, "Bout time, Salvatore."

Chris walked over, and through an arm around April's shoulder, "Sorry, fucking Garner man, he made me stay after to explain my "lack of dedication" in his class."  
"Mr. Garner is an ass who gets pleasure from making his students lives inconvenient," Tyler offered.

"Doesn't matter," Chris shrugged, looking down at April, "You're here…I'm guessing that means your Dad said yes?"  
She nodded, "Yep, but I have to be home by nine. It's technically still a school night."

"That's fine," Chris agreed, looking back at his friends, "So are we going or what?"  
Tyler nodded, hopping in the driver's seat.

Kol raised a brow, "So I'm guessing that I actually get the front seat today? Because you know, you could still sit up there, I'll hang out in back and keep April company."

He wiggled his brows, as Christian rolled his eyes, and she laughed, "As if."

"One day you're gonna regret not giving me the time of day, Miss. Young, and when that day comes, I'll have moved on, and you'll just have to live in lonely misery."  
She chuckled, rolling her eyes, "Sure Kol, considered me warned."

Chris opened the back door, "I'd like to actually get home before dark, so Kol, if you're through flirting with my girl, can we get going?"

"So moody," he complained, but opened the passenger's door, "But you make a point."  
"Thanks," Chris offered, "Now shut up and get it."

Kol did just that, and April slid into the back seat, Chris sitting next to her, pulling the door shut.

"You all good?" Tyler asked.  
"Yep," Chris answered, settling against the seat, "Just drive."

April leaned into his shoulder, and he smiled down at her.

After a moment she asked, "So…what's for dinner?"

He smirked, "I didn't ask, but I assume it depends on who's in charge of it."  
"Meaning?" she asked.

"Well, if Mom makes it, expect something simple…But apparently Damon learned how to cook from my grandmother."

She laughed, "I guess that's one perk of being Italian."

"Oh, come on," Kol shot from the passenger's seat, "You're technically only Italian if you're from Italy."

"The Salvatore's originated from Italy," Chris explained, "Before they moved to the America's and joined the group of families that founded our town."  
"Yeah and you're all the darlings of the town because of it…we get it," Kol groaned.

Tyler shook his head, "Hey, not all of us are pedestaled that high."  
"No?" April inquired, "Because your mother isn't head of the town's council or anything."

He shrugged, "Just because our parents are all into this high and mighty founding family stuff doesn't mean that the rest of us are."  
"Like we have a choice," Chris reminded him, "We're just as doomed to suffer the same uptightness as our ancestors."

"Especially you," Kol shot, "You know, having them on both sides. Gilbert and Salvatore."

"But his dad got out," Tyler reminded him.  
"Yeah, but he came back, doesn't count," Kol added, just as they pulled up to Chris's house.

"Enough, guys," he commanded, "Seriously. Find something better to talk about than my life, alright?"

They nodded, finally quiet, and April had it in her to feel a little bad for them.  
They didn't understand his sensitivity toward the subject.

"Come on," she insisted, reaching over him to open the door, "We're here."  
He nodded, "Yeah, let's go. Thanks for the ride, Ty."

"No problem," he answered, "See you guys tomorrow."  
Chris nodded, shutting the door after April stepped out.

* * *

As they watched his friend's drive away, she placed an arm around his waist.  
"You okay?"

He looked down at her, "Yeah…why?"

She shrugged, "You just seem a little wound up."  
He gave her a small smile, "I'm fine…"

His eyes flickered up toward the house, and she could see the uncertainty flash in them.

"You're nervous," she outed him.  
He shook his head, "I'm not. Tonight is just dinner."

"Yeah right," she shot, "Because me meeting your dad is no big deal whatsoever."  
"He's not-"  
"Chris," she stopped him, "Don't. Don't pretend like this isn't important to you, please."

His gaze held hers for a moment, then he sighed, "I'm freaking the hell out."

She nodded, "I know. But it'll be fine, you'll see."  
He nodded, "I hope so."

She leaned up on her tipped-toes, to place a kiss on his lips, "It will…besides, I'm really excited."  
He smiled, "Yeah?"

She nodded, "Definitely. I've always been curious about where you get your attitude from. It's definitely not from your mom, she's too sweet."  
He chuckled, "Well, then I guess we should go inside."

Again, she nodded, and he took her hand.

Chris pulled her toward the house, and she realized that she was a little nervous herself.  
He really wanted this thing with Damon to work out, she could tell, meaning that it was important that Damon like her…seeing as she spent most of her time with Chris.

As they stepped inside, they heard voices coming from the kitchen.

"You have to stir it slowly, darlin, that's the only way it'll-"  
"I am stirring it slowly. Seriously, any slower and it's gonna burn."  
"It is not going to burn. Here, switch me."

Chris, still holding her hand, led her toward them.

"Mom?" he announced, as they came into the kitchen, stopping in the door way.

Elena, who was standing near the stove with a hand on her hip, looked over, "Oh, hey baby, I didn't know you were home…April," she greeted with a smile.  
April smiled back, just as the man next to her, who had been stirring whatever was in the pot on the stove top, turned as well.

She had to blink a few times.

"April, huh?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking.

She glanced up at Chris, then back at his father, offering him a smile, "The one and only."

He sat the spoon he held to the side and walked over, offering her a hand, "Damon Salvatore. It's nice to meet you."

She nodded, shaking his hand, "Ditto. Though the intro isn't really necessary. It's pretty clear who you are."

He chuckled a little, "I take it you listen to my music?"

She shrugged, "Sometimes, but that's not what I meant."  
"No?" he inquired.

"You are clearly related to Chris," she noted, "The resemblance is hard to miss."

"Touché," he offered, before looking at Christian, "You like Mexican food?"  
Chris nodded and April laughed, "He likes any food."

"Not pickles," Chris reminded her, and Damon's eye brow rose.

"You have to have gotten that from your mother."

"Hey," Elena defended, "Don't pick on him for that. Pickles are disgusting."  
Damon only smirked, before looking back toward the stove, "Well, there's no pickles on tonight's menu. So you're both safe."

April smiled a little, not missing the way Elena's eyes lingered as Damon turned back toward the stove.  
Tonight was going to be interesting.

* * *

Damon checked the food, making sure the enchiladas were finishing up now that he'd added his four cheese sauce.  
Everything seemed to be moving on schedule, so he shut the oven and decided to give it a few more minutes.

April and Chris were sitting next to each other, at the island, and Elena was engaged in a conversation with them about their upcoming essay focusing on the town's history, while working on mixing the guacamole, to go with the chips.

"I'm so jealous of you guys!" April was saying, "You and Tyler both have a head start because of all your family heritage stuff, and us normal folk gotta dig through the publications that the libraries kept. And that's _really_ interesting, let me tell you."

Chris smirked, "I told you that you could borrow mine, babe. We can set up a study date this weekend or something."

Damon didn't miss the blush on April's cheek, and his body tensed.  
Chris was looking at April the same way he'd looked at Elena when they were that age, and he knew exactly what they'd been doing during their own study sessions, back then.

Idly, he wondered if Elena had ever had _that _talk with Chris, and decided to ask her later, once they were alone.  
Because if his gut feeling was right, he needed to make sure Christian knew the risks of his actions.

Pushing it aside for now, he leaned back against the stove, and focused on the scene before him, and couldn't help but smile.  
He could get use to this, the whole family thing.

"How's it coming?" he asked, checking over Elena to see the guacamole she had finished mushing.  
"All done," she grinned, looking up at him, and he had to force himself not to pull her to him and take her mouth right there in front of both teens.

But somehow, he managed to just return the smile, while causally sliding a hand across the small of her back, before leaning down to stick his finger in it.

He scooped a little and brought it to his mouth, "Not bad."  
She nudged at him, playfully, "Hey! No eating it until it's all done!"

Unable to help himself, he scooped a little more, and quickly swiped it on her nose.

"Damon!" she scolded, laughing, "Stay out of the food! And go check your enchiladas!"

He chuckled, moving to grab the plates he'd sat out, as she wiped the dip off of her face.  
He turned, handing them to Chris, "You two want to go set the table?"

Chris nodded, grabbing the plates, as April picked up the forks.

They left the kitchen, heading toward the dining area adjacent to the room.  
Taking advantage of their momentary absence, Damon turned to Elena.

"Come here," he whispered.  
She blinked at him, but stepped forward, and he smiled, taking her into his arms.

He noticed a little of the guacamole still on her nose, and smirked.  
"You missed some."

She raised a brow, her hand coming up to find it, "Where?"

Catching her hand, he leaned down, kissing the bridge of her nose, letting his tongue slide across it, removing the remaining smudge.  
"Mmhm," he pulled away, staring into her eyes, "Delicious."

She blushed, and he knew he wouldn't have much more time, so grabbing her face, he placed a hard kiss on her lips.  
He pulled back before they were interrupted, and she seemed breathless, "What was that for?"

He smirked, "Just in case I don't get the chance later."  
Leaving her with a wink, he moved to check the enchiladas that were finishing in the oven.

* * *

Christian finished sitting the last of the plates around the table, and started to walk back toward the kitchen, when April grabbed his arm.

Hesitating he looked back, and she smiled, "Let's give them a minute."  
His brows furrowed, "What do you mean?"

She sighed, with a playful roll of her eyes, "Boys…I swear. Can you really not see it?"  
He raised a brow, "If you're referring to how they keep looking at each other, the yes, I see it."

She shook her head, "The how isn't important Chris, it's the _way_ they keep looking at each other."  
"Ah," he humored her, "Enlighten me then."

She threw a glance toward the kitchen, "They are being all flirty, and it's so obvious that they're into each other! And your mom…she seems really relaxed…like more than I've ever seen her before."

Chris nodded, having noticed that as well.  
"I think Damon being here has taken that pressure off of her."

"Exactly!" April noted, "And she's happy, and he's clearly in love with her and if we could just get them-"

"Babe," he chuckled, cutting her off, "I'm sure you're dying to play match maker, but my parents aren't exactly candidates for Extreme Makeover: Family Edition."

"No," she agreed, "They're your _parents_, and they totally have the hots for each other, so-"  
"Oh God," he complained, "Not the mental images I need for the rest of tonight."

"Don't you want them back together?" she mock pouted.

He grinned. She was so damn cute sometimes.

"Of course I do…eventually. But I think that that's something that'll be up to them. I just want my mom happy, and yes, obviously Damon helps with that, but I think it's too soon for them to really know anything."

She stepped forward grabbing his face, "Chris. Love doesn't _need_ time. It just happens. Randomly, passionately, and full force. There's no choice in the matter, and there is nothing anyone can do to change it. You have it or you don't, and I'm telling you, your parents _have_ it!"

He pursed his lips to keep from smiling, "I love you and your over romanticism."

She smirked, "You'd better. Because I chose to love you."  
His brow raised, "I thought love wasn't a choice?"

She sized him up for a moment, before narrowing her eyes, "Shut up, Salvatore."

He grinned, kissing her forehead, "Come on. I think we've given them enough time to throw hot glances at each other."  
She sighed, but nodded, letting him pull her back into the kitchen.

* * *

**Okay, so April met Damon!**

**What did you think? **

**The stolen kiss?  
April's support?  
Damon cluing in to what his teenage son might be thinking about his teenage girlfriend ;) ?**

**I promise the next chapter will be the actual dinner lol.**

**Review please!?**


	25. Chapter 25

**Sorry the update took longer than usual! It was a busy weekend!  
****Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, and I hope you guys like it! :)**

* * *

Less than an hour later, they were all sitting down at the table, the enchiladas on a hot plate in front of them, along with a bowl of chips and the guacamole.

April was beginning to feel more relaxed, as she fell into an easy conversation with Elena about her school project.  
Elena had always been easy to talk to, and in a way, reminded April of her own mother, who cancer had claimed a while back.

Damon was sitting across from her, and eventually jumped into their conversation.

"So what were you planning for after graduation?" He asked casually, "Any idea if you want to do college, or…"

She nodded, "I want to study journalism."  
His brow raised, "Like a reporter?"

"Investigative reporter, actually."  
He seemed hesitant, and she could understand why, "I'm guessing Hollywood pit-bulls are a bit of an inconvenience though. Especially for a name as well-known as yours."

He shrugged, "The press is always going to be a problem. But on the contrary, I respect the media. It's a good source of publicity, and my name wouldn't be so well known without it. I do however, have an extreme dislike for those "pit-bulls", who seem to think there's a story behind every trip you take out of your apartment."

"I see how that could be a pain," she reasoned, "But who can you really blame? The tabloid reporter, who's trying to exploit you, or the bad-dye-job, needs-a-life public who lap it all up?"

He chuckled, "I learned a while back to just accept the fans in any form they come in. If they love you, they love you."

She shook her head, "But that's the thing, they don't. I mean sure, some of the die-hard ones can do everything down to memorizing your birthday, but at the end of the day, all they have is an unhealthy obsession. That's not love, it's manipulation of the public."

"So I take it you don't want to be one of those?"  
She shook her head, "God, no. I just want to do investigative journaling. Crime scene kind of stuff."

He seemed intrigued, "What got you interested in that?"  
She shrugged, "I love writing, and I like to know the truth about things. It just seems like something I'd enjoy."

"And it has nothing to do with the fact that you're a persistent nosy body?" Chris teased.  
She elbowed his side, "Don't be mean. So what if I like knowing the facts about things?"

Chris smirked, "There's nothing wrong with it. But don't forget that we did do that Historical Event Essay together last year. There's dedication, and there's obsession."  
"Well, if I remember correctly, my obsession got us an "A" on that assignment," she defended.

"Yeah, yeah, and I owed you coffee for like two weeks after that. I remember."  
She grinned, "Well it got you to finally ask me out, didn't it?"

He gave her a reproachful look to which she just grinned at, "That's what I thought."

"Shut it, Young."  
"Make me, Salvatore."

Chris smirked at her challenge, but Damon interrupted, "Young…is your father Byron Young?"  
April nodded, "Yep. You know him?"

Damon shot a look to Elena, who noticeably blushed, "We ran into each other a time or two."  
"This sounds interesting," Chris encouraged, raising a brow.

Damon chuckled, "I guess that's one word for it."

April got excited, "Please tell me you know something completely humiliating that I could use for blackmail in the future."  
"Sorry kiddo," he smirked, "Nothing blackmail worthy, although I'm pretty sure he had it in for Elena when we were in high school."

Elena shoved him, "He did not! That was you being a jealous ass, remember?"  
Damon grinned, "Say what you want sweetheart, but I know those looks when I see them."

"Pastor Young liked Mom?" Chris seemed incredulous.

"No."  
"Oh, yeah."

Elena threw Damon a reproachful look, "No he didn't. He was quite a few years older than us. He helped me study on a few weekends that he was back from the U, and your father just assumed he had a thing for me."

"Oh, he had a thing for you alright," Damon noted, "Didn't you ever wonder why he hated me?"  
Her brows furrowed, "You think that's why he didn't like you?"

"Sure, either that or it might have had something more to do with us being caught sneaking into the church that night so we could have-"  
"Damon!" she exclaimed, cutting him off.

The teens were laughing, but Elena was blood red, "No. That is not a road we go down at dinner."

He shrugged, "It's not like they think nothing ever happened. I mean, come on, our fifteen year old, six-foot-one tall, living, breathing son, sitting here is proof of that."

"Hey, I'm six-foot-three, thank you," Chris defended.  
April gave him a look, "You are not that tall!"

"Wanna bet?" he challenged.  
"No, it's true," Elena offered, "Had to go get his physical at the beginning of the semester. He's 6'3."

"Told you," he smirked.  
April rolled her eyes, "Uhhu, rub it in."

Elena chuckled, "It's unfair to us shorter people."  
"You're telling me," April nodded, "Being short sucks."

"I think it's just part of being a girl," Chris teased.  
"As if," April reprimanded, "My mom was tall."

"By the way," Damon added, "Who is your mother? I always assumed your Dad would move off to a bigger city. But seeing as he's obviously still here, I'm assuming he married locally?"

A thick silence filled the room when he was done speaking, and April sighed.  
It didn't matter where she was, if her mother was brought up, an awkward silence followed.

"Actually, he did move away. My mom was Mary Simmons, he met her in college, but she died of cancer when I was eight, so Dad and I moved back here."  
Damon blinked, "Oh…wow, I'm sorry."

"Thanks…I guess. I never was really sure how to answer that."  
She felt Chris's arm slide around her waist, and she looked at him, "I'm fine, really. It was a long time ago."

Damon nodded, "Well, I'm fairly certain your pretty looks didn't come from your dad, so she must have been beautiful."

April smiled appreciatively, "She was…and thanks. I actually think Dad took it the hardest. We moved back here to be with family afterwards, but he sort of jumped into his work after that…but I had my grandparents, my aunt…so it wasn't all that bad."

"Then you met me, and your world was rocked forever," Chris teased.

She laughed, looking at Elena, "Now, I know he didn't get the ego from you."  
She smirked, pointing toward Damon, "Nope, that's all _that_ one's fault."

"Hey," Damon defended, "It's not ego, it's a healthy self-confidence. Part of the Salvatore charm."

"Yeah, right," Elena prodded, "I'm sure that line has worked plenty over the years."  
He grinned, "Too bad it never worked on you."

She laughed, "It never needed to. I already knew what an arrogant bastard you were."  
"You're so sweet, Elena, you really are," he joked, making her stick her tongue out at him.

April watched them, smiling.  
They'd be so cute together, and she really wanted Chris to have the chance at a normal family.

She knew that that was important to him, no matter how cool and macho he tried to play if off.  
And it was so clear that his parents belonged together.  
She only hoped that they would notice it soon.

* * *

Chris helped Elena clear off the table, once they were through eating, as Damon and April disappeared into the living room, her having asked to see his guitar.

He was surprised at how well the two of them were getting along.  
Seriously.  
She clicked with Damon better than he did, but then again, it was April, and she could make anybody love her when she wanted to.

Seconds later, the sound of music trailed through the air, and he smiled, shaking his head.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Elena asked, wrapping up the left-over food and putting it in the fridge.  
"What is?" he asked, beginning to load the dishwasher.

"Having people here," she smiled, and he realized it had been a while since he'd seen her this content.  
He nodded, "A little…but it's kind of nice."

"It is," she agreed.

The sat in silence for a moment, then she sighed, "Chris, can I ask you something?"  
Her voice sounded conflicted, which worried him, "Of course."

He closed the dish washer, and turned, to find her studying him.  
"What's wrong, Mom?"

She noticeably swallowed, "Nothing's wrong, exactly…I just need to know…do you wish I'd done things differently?"  
He turned his head to the side, "What do you mean?"

"With Damon," she explained, "I know that I tried to do the best I could for you, but I wonder now if it was enough…it was wrong of me to keep you from him, I know that, and I wish I could change things, but I can't. And we never really talked about it…"

He nodded, "Yeah I know. I guess I've always wondered if how different things could have been, but I never blamed you, Mom. It was a rough situation, I get that, and you've sacrificed so much for me. But yes, I would have rather grown up with Damon knowing about me."

Her eyes fell to the floor, "I am so sorry, Christian."  
He moved toward her, pulling her against him in a hug, "It's okay Mom, really. Like you said, we can't change the past…but Damon's here now, and this past week has been pretty great."

She looked up, "Yeah?"  
He offered her a smile, "Yeah. Really, I'm okay."

"Good," she hugged him tighter, "I just want you happy, baby."

He nodded, thinking of his life.  
He had good grades, crazy friends, an amazing girl, and now both of his parents.

"I am happy, Mom."

Voices filled the air then, and they pulled apart, glancing at each other, before making their way to the living room.

Damon was on the couch, April cross-legged in the chair across from him, watching as he played a song.

"_It's not a silly little moment,  
It's not the storm before the calm.  
This is the deep and dying breath of  
This love that we've been working on._

Can't seem to hold you like I want to  
So I can feel you in my arms.  
Nobody's gonna come and save you,  
We pulled too many false alarms.

We're going down,  
And you can see it too.  
We're going down,  
And you know that we're doomed.  
My dear,  
We're slow dancing in a burning room.

I was the one you always dreamed of,  
You were the one I tried to draw.  
How dare you say it's nothing to me?

_Baby, you're the only light I ever saw._

I'll make the most of all the sadness,  
You'll be a bitch because you can.  
You try to hit me just to hurt me  
So you leave me feeling dirty  
Because you can't understand.

We're going down,  
And you can see it too.  
We're going down,  
And you know that we're doomed.

_My dear, we're slow dancing in a burning room,  
Burning room,  
Burning room,_

Don't you think we oughta know by now?  
Don't you think we shoulda learned somehow?  
Don't you think we oughta know by now?  
Don't you think we shoulda learned somehow?"

He finished, and Chris couldn't help but feel impressed.  
At least the talent part wasn't a lie; Damon could sing.  
But then again he doubted that he inherited his own musical interest from his mother.

Hesitantly, he looked at his father, and cleared his throat.  
"May I?"

Damon seemed a little taken aback, at first, but handed the guitar over, "You play?"

Chris nodded, moving to sit on the arm of April's chair, seeing as Elena had already claimed the spot next to Damon.

Picking one of his favorites, he started strumming.  
He immediately realized that this guitar was a lot more expensive than the hand-me-down one he owned.

The sound was simply amazing.

April smiled next to him when she recognized the tune, and when the song hit the last prelude note, she was singing with him.

"_Our love was unconditional  
We knew it from the start  
I see it in your eyes  
You could feel it in my heart_

_From here on after  
Let's stay the way we are right now  
And share all the love and laughter  
That a lifetime will allow_

_I cross my heart_  
_And promise to_  
_Give all I've got to give_  
_To make all your dreams come true_  
_In all the world_  
_You'll never find_  
_A love as true as mine"_

He was surprised when Damon's voice cut in.  
Though he was sure everyone was familiar with King George, it was still a little of a shock.

April's voice also trailed off, as they listened to Damon, while Chris continued to play.

"_You will always be the miracle  
That makes my life complete  
And as long as there's still breath in me  
I'll make yours just as sweet_

_As we look into the future  
It's as far as we can see  
So let's make each tomorrow  
Be the best that it can be_

_I cross my heart  
__And promise to  
__Give all I've got to give  
__To make all your dreams come true  
__In all the world  
__You'll never find  
__A love as true as mine_

_And if along the way we find a day  
It starts to storm  
You've got the promise of my love  
To keep you warm,"_

Chris couldn't help but notice the way that Damon looked at his mother when he sang this, and the inner child in him grew hopeful.  
Maybe there really was a chance that they'd someday be a real family.  
But hope was all he had.

_In all the world  
You'll never find  
A love as true as mine."_

* * *

**End of chapter!**

**Please review and let me know what you thought! :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**As usual, you guys are so supportive!  
Thank you for all the wonderful reviews :)**

**On to the chapter! I think you guys will like this one ;)**

* * *

Damon was impressed, to say the least.

Not only could Christian play, but he could play well.  
He wondered if Elena had mentioned that in one of their conversations, but didn't remember anything that particularly stood out, so maybe not.

But it was definitely interesting to see how much he and the boy had in common.  
Beyond their looks, anyway.

And the more he found out, the more he wanted to know.

He wondered if Chris would be okay with them spending some one on one time with each other at some point.  
Surely they were familiar enough by now that he'd be okay with it…and it couldn't hurt to ask.

Chris finished playing another song, and Damon smiled, as April and Elena clapped.

"That wasn't too shabby," he offered with a grin, and Chris smiled.  
"Thanks, though I have to admit, half of the credit should go to this little baby."

He caressed the guitar with the same adoration Damon often showed his Camaro.

"She's one of my favorite acoustics," he admitted, "But I have an electric in my car."  
Chris's eyes lit up, "Are you serious?"

Damon chuckled, and reached across the coffee table for his keys, and tossed them over.  
"In the trunk."

"Awesome!" Chris shot, jumping up, "You coming, April?"  
The girl shrugged, before standing up as well, and following him as he hurried out the door.

Damon smiled.

"I think you just made his year," Elena joked, and he looked over at her.  
"Nah, weekend maybe, but the whole year is a lot to make."  
She smirked, "Okay, smart ass."

He only smiled.

"But seriously," she stated, "Thank you. He's been dying to play forever, but his old guitar is practically busted, and I couldn't really afford a new one."  
Damon eyed her, "If he's that into it, I have plenty of extras…or I could buy him his own. There's a guy I order from that crafts them himself, and-"

"No, it's okay," she stopped him, "Your parents are way ahead of you. Valentina called months ago, wanting to know what they could get him for Christmas. So next month, he'll have it."

Damon nodded, "That's good….Man, I didn't even think about Christmas."  
She laughed, "It does tend to be the holiday that sneaks up on everyone."

He considered this, "Is there anything else Chris was wanting?"  
"Not unless you can get your hands on a completely rebuilt 1970's Firebird," she noted.

He raised a brow, "Pontiac?"  
She blinked at him, "You knew that?"

He nodded, "I love the classics. Eventually I settled on my Camaro, but the Pontiac's had quite a selection."

"Huh," she thought, "Who'd of thought."  
He smirked, "That I'd know the difference?"  
She shook her head, "That Chris would be into them too."

Damon measured her, "So, you're serious…about the car?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Apparently my dad has a Firebird in his shed by the lake house, and he showed it to Chris last year. Ever since, Chris has been convinced that that's the car he wants. And he's turning sixteen soon, so a car is exactly what I should be getting him, but the one my Dad has is completely shot, and I don't even want to imagine how much the parts would cost. And buying one completely restored also cost an arm and a leg."

Damon thought about what she had said, and decided on something.  
"Would Grayson sell? The firebird at the lake house?"

She stared at him, "I'm not sure why he wouldn't…but I don't know the first thing about repairing classic Pontiacs."  
He smirked, "No, but I do."

Her brow raised, "You want to buy the car, from my _father_, and rebuild it?"  
He nodded, "Yeah, why not? I owe Chris quite a few years of Christmas presents…and it's not like I don't have the money."

"Yeah, but-"  
He grabbed her hand, "Elena, I want to."

She held his gaze for a moment, then nodded, "Okay…but I can't promise that my dad will sell it to you. It's not a secret how he feels about you being in town."  
Damon shrugged, "That's his problem. If he won't sell, then I have about fifty numbers at my disposal to find someone who will."

She smiled a little, "The high life must be nice."  
He stared down at their connected hands, "Actually, it is, sometimes…but mostly it's just lonely."

She gave him a look, "Right. I'm supposed to believe you never dated since leaving here."

"No," he admitted, "I did…a lot actually. And I built up a reputation for myself that I'm not exactly proud of…but it never meant anything. None of it did. And that, I do need you to believe."

She nodded, "I do…I get it. I didn't exactly have time to date a lot, but sometimes, the loneliness sucked. I can understand why someone would want to."  
He considered this, "True…but random dates and one-night stands aren't always the easiest solution, trust me."

"No," she agreed, "But is there really any easy solution to being lonely?"  
"I guess not," he allowed.

She was really close to him now, so close that he could easily lean down and kiss her again.  
He wanted to.

But Chris and April could be back at any second and….actually, if they just went to get the guitar, they should've been back already.  
He turned toward the door, listening.

Nothing.

And it was dark outside now.  
Meaning two hormonal teenagers could be up to anything.

Great.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked, seeing his face.  
He turned, looking at her.

"Elena, have you, by any chance, ever talked to Chris about, you know, the birds and bees?"  
Her brow raised, "You mean, did I ever give him the sex talk?"

He nodded.

"We talked about it a little a few years ago, but he usually goes to Stefan for those type of questions."

Damon sighed, "Do he and April spend a lot of time alone?"  
Elena blinked, "Uh, sometimes, I guess. Why? Do you think that they're…"

Her eyes widened at the possibility.

Damon felt a little pity for her, but answered honestly, "I'd be more surprised if they weren't."  
"But he's-"  
"A teenage boy," Damon answered straight, "Trust me, it's an unavoidable phase."

"Oh God," Elena groaned sinking into the cushion, "I'm not ready for that."  
Damon rubbed her back, "Unfortunately, neither is Chris, but no one's going to be able to make him understand that."

He stood, and Elena glanced up at him, "What do we do?"

Damon considered that, then answered, "I'm going to talk to him, soon. Let him know that his choices have consequences. But first, I'm going to go make sure they aren't exploiting their teenage urges in my car."

He walked over to the window, and glanced out of the blinds.  
It took his eyes a moment to adjust, but eventually, the streetlamp gave him enough light to be able to see well enough to spot Chris.

It could have been worse.  
He and April were on the other side of the car, leaned against the back door, clearly wrapped up in a full on make-out session.

"Please tell me they aren't," Elena practically begged.  
He shook his head, "No, they're just kissing."

He let go of the blind, and looked back at her, "I think they'd know that we'd come looking if they took too long."  
She nodded, "So should we call them in?"

Damon shook his head, "No...but-" he reached over, hitting a light switch, "Turn on the porch light, and I give it a minute tops before they are walking through the-"

The front door opened, and Chris and April both came in, Chris holding the guitar case.  
Damon shot Elena a "What did I tell you?" look, and turned to his son, "You find it okay?"

Chris nodded, but Damon could see the slightest hint of a blush, "Uh, yeah, in the trunk, just like you said."  
Damon smirked a little as he noticed April's flushed face, "Okay, well, go put it in your room for now."

He checked his phone, "But it is a quarter past eight, and you did say April needed to be home by nine, right?"  
Chris nodded.

"Okay, go put it up, and we'll take her home."  
Chris did as he said, moving to the bedroom, and Elena stood, "Are we all going?"

Damon shrugged, "If you want?"  
She nodded, "We can take my car."

"Sounds good," Damon smiled, then turned to April.  
"Did you bring anything?"

She shook her head, "Nothing more than my jacket," which she was already wearing.  
Chris came back into the room, "Are we leaving now?"

"I think so," Elena nodded, moving to grab her keys, "If we don't get April home on time, I doubt her dad will let her come back."  
"That's a good point," April sighed, "He's a little eccentric that way."

Damon chuckled.

That girl really was a character, and it was easy for him to see what Chris saw in her.  
She actually reminded him a bit of Elena.  
Warm, sarcastic, positive…he was glad Chris had someone like that in his life.

He just wished they'd slow down before making a mistake they couldn't undo.

"Okay, let's go," Elena instructed, opening the door, and shuffling the kids out, before turning to him, "You coming?"  
He nodded, "Yeah…let's go."

* * *

Elena couldn't sleep.

It had been hours since they'd gotten back from taking April home, yet she couldn't get comfortable.  
Her bed felt colder now, too big.

_That's what you get for letting Damon sleep in it with you_, she scolded herself.  
But deep down, she knew that she'd do it all over again.

It was harder still, knowing that Damon wanted to be in here just as much as she wanted him to be, and that Christian would probably be okay with it.  
She was losing grasps of her reasoning for pushing Damon away.

Except for the fact that she was scared.  
Scared of giving into him, and being hurt all over again.

Which seemed reasonable enough, in theory, but another part of her realized that she and Damon had both done a lot of growing and changing…a lot of maturing, and that maybe they could handle it.  
But then maybe not.

And she still had Chris to think about.

Especially now that Damon had mentioned his opinion about the things Chris and April may be doing.  
She sighed.

It wasn't like the thought had never crossed her mind.  
But April was such a sweet, good girl, and Chris hadn't done anything to make Elena think something was up.

But then again, she did work a lot.

There were plenty of times Chris had gotten home from school hours before she'd be off work, not that there was really anything she could do about that, but still, it would have given him a lot of opportunity to do things he shouldn't.

Not to mention that, according to Damon, he'd snuck out the weekend before.  
How many times had he done that in the past?

And April only lived a few blocks away…

Her head hurt as she span through all of the possibilities.  
And to be honest, she didn't know what to do, or what to expect.

Damon was the only person she'd ever been serious about, and the only person she'd slept with, as a teenager.  
And look how that ended up.

She loved Christian more than anything, but if given the chance, she would have wanted a different life for him.  
And her being seventeen, barely graduated, getting an English degree online while working full time wasn't exactly the picture perfect life she would have chosen.

She didn't want April, or Chris, to have to suffer through the same.

But she remembered her nights with Damon.  
No way would she have let anyone tell her to stop.

Not when she was so convinced that they were in love, and right for each other.

However in hindsight, she wished she would have been smarter.  
Not that she regretted Damon, or having Chris, but she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if they'd backed off a little.

Maybe Grayson wouldn't have been so quick to run Damon out of town.  
Maybe she wouldn't have ended up as a single mother, and maybe they would have had a chance.

But the "maybes" didn't matter.

What mattered was that Damon was back, and knew about Chris.  
And could apparently pick up on things that she couldn't.

With that thought, she sat up.

Maybe Damon would know what to do about it all.  
He'd been in the same boat before, and maybe he could relate to Chris.

She checked her phone.  
It was barely past midnight, so maybe he'd still be awake.

Hoping that he was, she climbed out of bed, opened her door, and tiptoed down the hallway.  
Coming into the living room, she used the faded light coming in through the blinds to help find her way to Damon's makeshift bed.

His body covered almost all of it, and she felt a little bad that he'd consented to sleeping on the old thing, just to spend time with her and Chris.

His hair was tasseled, and his eyes were closed.  
Damn, so he was asleep.

She sighed, sitting on the edge of the fold out, looking down at him.

The moonlight made his skin seem pale, but outlined every curve of his muscles perfectly.  
She wanted to trail a hand over them, rediscover the strength he held behind each of his movements, but that wasn't why she was here.

However, she couldn't resist brushing his bangs back, and cradling his face.  
He'd aged some, since she'd last seen him, his skin no longer carrying the perfection of youth…but he was still perfect to her.

But then, the Salvatore's weren't lacking in the attractive genes department.  
And Damon had always been beautiful.

She hadn't realized that she was stroking his face, until his eyes fluttered, and he settled against his bed, "Elena?"  
"Shhh," she answered quickly, not wanting to wake Chris up.

He whispered then, "What are you doing in here?"  
Good question.

"I was hoping you were awake," she told him honestly.  
He sat up, rubbing his face, "I am now."

She nodded, "Sorry."  
"Nah, it's fine," he assured her, "What's wrong?"

In hindsight, it now seemed silly that she couldn't just wait until morning to have this conversation, but he was awake now, so there was no point in changing her mind.  
"I just wanted to talk."

He nodded, moving over the best he could, then tapped the place next to him.  
She smiled a little, and crawled up next to him.

It was a tight fit, but he placed his arm around her, so it worked.  
"What's up?" he asked.

She sighed, leaning into his shoulder, "What am I gonna do about Chris?"  
His head leaned down against hers, "You mean about the whole April thing?"

She nodded, "I'm not really sure how to make my teenage son not have sex."  
Damon seemed to think about it, before answering, "I don't really think you can."

"But we can't just let him," she reasoned, "Look what happened with us. What if April was to get pregnant? He isn't ready for that kind of relationship…"

Damon sighed, "I doubt you'll be able to convince him of that though. Trust me, my parents did a lot of talking when I was his age. It didn't stop us from sleeping together."

"That's my point," she reasoned, "There's no way he's going to stop, just because we tell him to."  
"No," Damon agreed, "But there are precautions we can make sure he's taking."

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking up at him.  
Damon shrugged, "Condoms, birth control, limited alone time-"

"Wait, so we're supposed to just let it happen?" she questioned, "Just give him a condom, give him a safe sex speech and that's that?"

"No," Damon corrected, "We can tell him that we think it's wrong, but if he's going to do it anyway, it's better if he knows he can come to us for contraceptives, instead of being afraid of us finding out, hiding it, and getting the girl pregnant."

"But doesn't that seem like we are enabling him?" she asked, conflicted.  
He looked down, "You can call it whatever you want, but trust me, safe is better than sorry."

She shook her head, "I swear, yesterday he was taking he was starting kindergarten…how is this even possible?"  
"Time has a way of catching up with you," Damon noted, his voice distant.

He leaned against the back of the couch, "I'll talk to him tomorrow."  
Elena raised a brow, "You think he'll listen?"

"No clue," he answered honestly, "But it's worth a shot. I can pick him up from school, take him to the Grill. We can shoot some pool, and I'll bring it up."

She was still unsure, "I don't know, maybe I should try to-"  
"Elena," Damon cut her off, facing her, "I know I haven't been a part of this rodeo very long, but these are the kind of talks dads are _supposed_ to have with their sons. I've been there, I know how he's feeling, okay? Just let me do this."

The conviction in his eyes was so self-assured, that she could only nod, "Okay."  
"Thank you," his words were simple, but filled with heat, and she couldn't help but swallow.

They really were incredibly close right now.  
And his eyes were so focused, burning into her own.

"Elena…" he whispered, and she moved, closing the space between them.

The kiss wasn't urgent, but it was demanding.  
His arm flexed around her, pulling her tighter into his body, and she shifted, as he pulled one of her legs over his lap, so that she was straddling him.

Her hands slid into his hair, angling his head to have better access, as his hands gripped her waist hard enough to leave bruises.  
She could feel his growing desire pressing against her middle, and couldn't stop herself from grinding down against it.

God, she'd missed this.

His hand slid up to grip her back, flushing her chest against his own, as his mouth left her lips and trailed down her neck, and across her collar bone.  
Every part of her was on fire, under his touch, and her head was a fog.

All she knew was that she never wanted this to stop.  
She pulled his mouth back to hers, and her hands slid across his bare chest.

She could feel Damon's fingers caressing her, so close to the waistline of her shorts.  
Just a little further down and he would be-

The click of an opening door had her frozen.

Damon too, as she pulled away, wide eyed, and looked toward the hall.  
It was too dark to see anything, but seconds later, they heard the bathroom door shut, and a light come on from under it.

"Busted?" he whispered, so low she could barely make it out.  
She shook her head, "Not if he goes right back to bed…but if I move, this mattress will creak."

Her words were hardly a breath, but Damon understood.  
Silently, the waited.

A few moments later, the light turned off, and they heard the door open.  
Elena's breath caught.

But luckily, the sound was followed by the shutting of a bedroom door, and she let out the air that had been trapped in her throat.

"Close," Damon whispered with a smirk, before leaning up and trying to kiss her again.  
But that had been too close.

"No, Damon, we can't."  
He eyed her, clearly waiting for the explanation, "What if Chris sees?"

"He's in bed."  
"This time," she pointed out, "But who's to say he won't get up again? It's too big of a risk."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Damon urged.  
She shook her head, "Damon this is a big deal. I'm not even sure that _I'm_ sure about it."

"You were sure two minutes ago," he pointed out.  
She gave him a look, "Heat of the moment. But seriously, now isn't the time."

"Fine," he consented.  
She smiled at his pouting look, "Thank you."

She placed a short kiss on his lips, before untangling herself, and standing.  
"I'll see you in the morning?"

He nodded, offering her a smile, "I'll be the one making breakfast."

She shook her head, turning toward her bedroom, wondering how in the hell she was supposed to get any sleep now.

* * *

**Sorry to leave you guys there, but it felt like the right place to end it.**

**So the whole Chris/April thing is out!  
**

**How do you think their "talk" will go?  
Opinions on the "almost busted" scene?  
Do you think Elena's right in waiting?**

**Review please!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hey guys! Sorry about the wait!  
Got busy with the whole 4th of July stuff! **

**And sorry that this chapter is a little short, but it's where it needed to end! :)**

**Hope you like :)**

* * *

After shutting her door, she walked into the bathroom, flipping on the light.

She turned on the sink faucet and splashed some water on her face, before looking into the mirror.

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were wide, and her lips were swollen.  
She looked sexed up, which would be achingly correct.

She hadn't been this turned on in years, and her body definitely knew it.  
Hell, she'd practically been dripping to have Damon inside her, and that was with them barely past the make out stage.

She sighed, taking a deep breath, and turned to go back to bed.  
She needed to get a hold of herself, regain her self-control.

Readjusting her pillow, she climbed under the blankets and tried to make herself comfortable.

She let her mind drift to the current situation as a distraction.

Damon wanted to take Chris out for guy time.  
Maybe it would be good for them.

But her protective instincts were in overdrive.  
Not that she didn't want to trust Damon with their son, but just the fact that the topic was going to be so personal, she wasn't sure how Chris would react.

She sighed.  
That was Damon's problem.

She made a mental note to ask Stefan what he thought.  
Chris had talked to him for years when he started going through the puberty stages, and Elena was glad there was at least one male in his life that the boy trusted.

Maybe he told Stefan more though.  
Maybe he would have told Stefan if he was having sex with April…but surely Stefan would have mentioned it to her, wouldn't he?

She'd have to ask him, just to be sure.

A light tap on her door yanked her from her thoughts.  
She sat up in the bed, "Yeah?"

The door opened, and she could see Damon's silhouette in the dim light.  
He closed the door behind him, and hesitated, lingering there in his underwear.

"Damon," she whispered, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just…,"He took a step forward, enough for her to see his face, and she could tell that he was debating with himself.

"What is it?"

He sighed, moving to sit on the edge of her bed, "I need to be with you, Elena."

She froze, her mouth going dry, "We can't, Damon. I told you…I need time…and Chris, he has-"  
"No, no," he hurried, "I don't mean like that."

She blinked at him, "Then what?"  
He huffed, taking her hand, "I just need to be around you. I can't sleep, Elena. I need to feel you."

His voice was quiet, small.

She realized that he was waiting for her rejection, so that she could make him go back to bed.  
By all means, that would be the smart, responsible thing to do.

But since when was she ever responsible when it came to him?  
"Just sleeping?" she inquired, and his gaze shot to hers.

"I promise. I'm not going to deny wanting you, Elena…but it's not just about the sex. The way I feel next to you is something I've been missing for a long time. And right now, I just need to feel you in my arm."

His eyes were wide, vulnerable.  
She swallowed, but nodded, "Then come to bed."

He moved then, pulling back the blankets, and she wiggled over, giving him room.  
Her bed dipped when he laid down, and she held her breath, letting him situate them.

He lifted her, so that his arm could slide under her head, as his hand pulled her to him.  
She let go of the restraints she'd held all night, and fell into his embrace completely.

His arms closed around her, as she snuggled into his chest, letting both of them relax.  
His hand played with the ends of her hair, and it kind of felt nice.  
Hell, just being this close to him felt nice.

His smell was all around her, so masculine, so _Damon_.  
It made her feel happy.  
And safe.  
But most of all, it was a sure reminder that she wasn't alone.

That was all she registered, as her breathing fell in tune with his own, and the drowsiness began to settle over her.

Then he whispered, "Elena…"  
"Hmm?" she asked, her eyes closing.  
"I dreamed of this."

His arms around her tightened, and she somehow felt like he was holding her together again.  
Fixing all of her brokenness.

Thickness filled her throat, but she smiled.  
"So did I."

* * *

Chris knew it wasn't morning yet, when his phone went off.  
Sleepily, he grabbed it, as it vibrated on his night stand.

A text message.  
At three in the morning.

Groaning, he adjusted his eyes and opened it.

_Tyler has to help with FF this weekend  
__We still game for Saturday?_

_ -Kol_

Chris tried to clear his mind.

What was supposed to happen Saturday? And Tyler had to help with what?  
His brain cleared a little as he realized Kol was talking about the Fall Festival.

The group had decided months ago that they were going to skip out on the Halloween party at the town square, and break into the Beckham Hotel.

It was said to be one of the most haunted places in Virginia, even though it had been closed up for years.  
But he couldn't.

He texted Kol back.

_Grounded. Mom's making me help too._

_ -Chris_

It didn't take long to get a reply.

_Are you kidding? Me and Jer can't do it alone._

_ -Kol_

It was too late to be having this conversation.  
Seriously, could the guy not wait until school in the morning to bombard with the curiosity?

_There's always next year. We'll talk more later. Get your ass to sleep._

_ -Chris_

_Yes, Mom._

_ -Kol_

Chris chuckled a little, sitting up to make sure his phone was hooked onto the charger.

Then he reached for the glass of water he usually kept next to him, but found it empty.  
Great.

With a dramatic sigh, he pulled away his blankets, and crawled out of the warm bed.  
Quietly he opened his door, and crept down the hallway.

He managed to get through the living room, and into the kitchen, without waking anyone up.  
Quickly, he filled the cup, and drained it, not realizing he'd been so thirsty.

He filled it again, and walked quietly back toward the living room.  
He wasn't used to having to sneak around, just to get a drink.

But seeing as Damon was now camping out on the sofa, there was a chance that the noise would-  
He blinked.

The sofa was folded out, but there was no Damon on the mattress.  
He looked around.

The bathroom light was off, and the front door was still locked.  
Weird.

"Damon?" he called out in a loud whisper.

No answer.  
He felt an unexplainable uneasiness.

Had Damon left? In the middle of the night, without telling them?  
That didn't make sense.  
Unless it had all gotten to be too much for the rolling stone, and he'd ditched.

A slight panic gripped Chris's chest, and he hurried to the window, looking outside.  
Damon's Camaro was still in the driveway.

He breathed in relief.  
There was no way Damon would leave that behind.

Chiding himself, he took a steady breath.  
Damon was still here.

He'd said he wanted to work this out, and that was going to require trust.  
Which meant that Chris couldn't just believe he'd taken off every time the man wasn't where he was supposed to be.

But then…where was he?

He made his way to the hall to check the bathroom, but the door was open.  
With furrowed eyebrows, he looked over.

His mother's bedroom door was open, too.

He knew he probably shouldn't, but curiosity got the best of him, so he snuck down the hallway, and stopped at the door to the room.

There was enough outside light coming in through the window for him to see the shapes on the bed.

Sure enough, Damon's back was facing him.

Quietly, he stepped further into the room.  
His eyes trailed over their sleeping faces, as well as the noticeable clothes his mother was thankfully still wearing.

So they weren't screwing then.

Somehow that thought comforted him, knowing that they weren't starting a fling behind his back.

But then, what exactly was going on?

His eyes could see pretty well in the dark, and he stared at his mother's face.  
She seemed so relaxed, so content.  
She looked like she was in the deepest sleep of her life, and he wondered just how much stress had been taken off of her shoulders by Damon's homecoming.

He looked at his father.

The man's arms were wrapped protectively around Elena, but his face was calm.  
He seemed…happy.  
His head was resting against hers, and Chris could tell that their feet were intertwined, too.

They looked like a couple.

Strangely, he felt a smile cross his lips.  
This feeling of…satisfaction, wasn't exactly what he'd expected to feel.

But he did.  
He was happy.

Happy that it appeared he'd get his family after all.

Leaving them to sleep, he quietly left the room, pulling the door closed behind him, and walked back to his own room.

He sat down the glass of water, before getting under the blanket, and sighing contently.  
His parents were sharing a bed now.

He smiled.  
April was never going to let him hear the end of this.

* * *

**Again, I know it was short...but I hope you liked! :)**

**Review and let me know what you thought! **


	28. Chapter 28

**Ugh, okay, rant.**

**My new computer is having malfunctions, so I'm stuck with my old, old one.  
Seriously, it doesn't even have Microsoft.  
So there may be more typo's, and the chapters may be shorter, because I can't measure the word count on this computer.**

**Sorry in advance.**

**Anyway, I'm trying to update more quickly, but the computer swap, on top of the holiday has been an adjustment.**

**Thanks for hanging in there :)**

* * *

It was early when Damon woke up. Too early.  
The sun was barely in the sky, and the alarm had yet to go off.

He blinked a few times, taking in his surroundings.  
He was in Elena's bedroom, wrapped up in Elena's sheets, holding Elena in his arms.

If last night wasn't so suddenly clear in his mind, he would have believed he was dreaming.  
Too many times in the past had he imagined this exact scenario, only to wake and find it gone.

Except now, his dreams were empty, and reality was his deepest desire.  
As complicated as it may seem.

He settled into the pillow, allowing himself a moment to appreciate the beauty next to him.

She was laying on her side, but was no longer pressed against him.  
However, his arm was asleep from where she was laying on it.

He didn't mind though, not when she looked so damn peaceful.

Her lashes were long and thick, even without makeup, and curled on the top of her cheekbones, which were high and delicate.

He wanted to touch her, but knew that that would risk waking her up.  
And he didn't want to do that yet.

Lazily, his eyes drifted over her body.  
Her hair was just as silky as it had always been, falling around her face in tumbled waves.  
She was older, her features having noticeably changed some, but it looked good on her.

She was beautiful.

Her body had changed too.  
Rounded out, probably by the pregnancy, curvier, sexy.

He wondered if she knew just how tempting she was, without even trying.  
But Elena had always had that aura about her.  
The innocent wild child.  
It was part of her charm, and one thing he loved so much about her.

And being with her, like this, was so much better than anything else in his thirty-plus years on earth.  
She was his flawed perfection.

Elena began to stir a little, and he watched as she opened her eyes, her lashes fluttering.  
Then she stretched, before finally seeming to realize that he was there.

Her expression was blank, and he wondered if she was having regrets about letting him stay.

Which was why it surprised him when she moved closer to him, lightly pecking his lips, before settling into his arms.

"Good morning."  
He smiled back, "Morning."

"What time is it?" she wondered, and he reached behind him with his free arm, to feel for her phone.  
Grabbing it, he checked, "It's a little past six."

She nodded, "I have to leave for work by eight."

Damon had forgotten that she was going back today.  
But then again, he already had plans, "So you're still cool with me getting Chris out of school early, right?"

She blinked at him, "Early? Did we say that?"  
Damon shrugged, "I figured I'd pick him up a little before school let out. The Grill should be less full by then."  
She shrugged, "That's fine. Just make sure he doesn't have a test or anything."

She snuggled into his chest so easily, it was like no time had passed.  
He stroked her hair, loving the feeling of it sliding through his fingers.

They laid in comfortable silence for a moment.

"I've missed doing this," he finally stated, and she moved back, to look at him.  
A casual smile graced her lips, "Damon, you already told me you've been with other girls, remember? I'm sure there were tons of nights where your bed was plenty warm."

He could tell that she was trying to make a joke of it, but he was serious.  
"That's not what I mean," he assured her, "I wasn't exactly a saint, true, but the other girls I've been with…it was just sex. Meaningless one-night stands."

He motioned between them, "This, us…whatever's going on…it's more. Hell, we're_ cuddling_, Elena."  
She giggled a little, and the sound brought a smile to his lips, "And I'd rather be right here, cuddling with you, than anywhere else."

She raised a brow, "Who knew you'd prefer cuddling to sex."  
He smirked, "I didn't say it was preferable…I just prefer cuddling with _you_ over sex with strangers. There's no emotion behind meaningless sex, so there's nothing to miss. But cuddling…lying next to someone that you care about…that's what I miss. The intimacy."

Her eyes closed at his words, and he cupped her cheek.

He waited a minute, and she finally looked back up at him, "You've never loved anyone else?"  
He could hear the slight insecurity in her voice, so his answer was firm, "Never. It was only you, Elena. You were the only one I ever really loved."

The relief was evident in her features.

"Same with me," she admitted.

He was grateful for this fact, but it also saddened him.  
Elena was a relationship kind of person, and going without because she had to raise his son, did nothing to settle his guilt.

"You dated," he remembered her saying.

She nodded, "Yeah, a little. It took a while before I wanted to again. It was weird, being a mom. I guess I felt like I was betraying Chris somehow. But when he was a little older, Mom or Caroline would watch him for me so I could go out."

She swallowed, as though this was hard for her to talk about, "It was slow, at first. I went on a couple dates with this guy at work, but it really didn't feel right, so we decided to just stay friends. Then there was this friend of Stefan's. He came to one of the town's events, and we got talking, and he asked me to dinner. I didn't see him again afterwards, but we had a good time. I guess it encouraged me to get out there again."

She straightened out, her eyes glazed over as she spoke, "Matt came home for a while, you remember him right? He got his Bachelor's in Architect and was taking a post-school break for the summer. We talked quite a bit, and went out a few times. He'd just broken up with a girlfriend at his school, and I'm pretty sure I was a rebound, but it was fun. We went to dinner, a few movies, cooked at home. He was great with Chris, even though it had been a few years since he'd seen him."

She blushed a little, "I wasn't planning on sleeping with him. In all honesty, I kind of wished that I hadn't. Chris was at my Mom's and we'd both been drinking…he was the first person besides you that I'd ever been with. In a way, I guess it's good, that it was with someone I'd known forever, someone I cared about, but I was so afraid that it was going to ruin our friendship…so I called it off, shortly after. He moved a couple of years ago, with his job, but he still keeps in touch."

Damon didn't say anything, afraid that she'd close up, but his mind was irked.  
Matt Donovan? Really? Mystic Falls' all around boy next door.

He couldn't stop the slight jealousy, but made himself ignore it.  
Elena could be with whoever she wanted.

Besides, it wasn't like he was blameless.  
At least she knew the names of the guys she'd been with.

It was torture, but he needed to know these things.  
Needed her to be comfortable with telling him.

"You said you'd been with three guys, right?" he encouraged.

She nodded, "Yeah, though at least the last two were planned. Not that they really meant anything. They were both nice enough guys, but I didn't love them. It was sex for the sake of sex, which like you said, was meaningless, pointless. After the last time, I remember laying there, wondering why I was even doing this. I figured that I was just wasting time that I should have been with my son. So ever since then, I focused on him. I love Chris more than anything, and with that, sex dimmed in comparison. I dated a few times since, but eventually it just wasn't worth the hassle."

"When was the last time you went out on a date?" he asked, "Like a real date?"

She thought, "A few weeks ago, I let my boss take me to dinner. It's the first time I'd been out in a year, and we had a pretty good time."

Damon's eyebrow raised, "Your boss?"

She nodded, "Elijah Mikaelson. He's great, really…but not really it for me. I don't think Chris liked him, and besides, the whole workplace thing could have gotten weird, and it just seemed easier to leave it professional. Elijah agreed, so that was that."

Damon nodded, "Probably a smart choice."

Even he could hear the possessiveness in his own voice, and wasn't surprised when Elena chuckled.

Still he asked, "Something funny?"  
She smirked at him, "I think it just kind of hit me."

"What did?"

She sighed, "That I'm really having the awkward ex conversation while in bed with my ex."  
He ruffled her some, "Is that all we are to each other? Exes?"

She shrugged, "To be honest, I really don't know what to call us, Damon. We dated, we were lovers, we had a baby…but we haven't seen each other in a really long time, and now apparently we're cuddle-buddies. So if you find a word that fits that, by all means, let me know."

He smiled, "Cuddle-buddies?"  
A smirk crossed her face, "Shut up, you know what I meant."

Still smiling, he leaned forward, kissing her lightly.  
Her hand came up, caressing his cheek, and he pulled away, "I like being your cuddle-buddy."

She stroked his face, smiling softly, "I like having you here."  
He kissed her again, "Then I'll never leave this bed."

She smirked, "Promises, promises."

* * *

**Okay, a cute little morning after scene.**

**Everyone needs a little fluff ;) But I promise, things will heat up before long!**

**So what did you guys think? Review please!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Wow, you guys are awesome! I loved all your reviews and am so glad that you liked the fluff! :)**

**Again, the chapter may be a little short, and I'm sorry for it, but I think you'll enjoy it anyway! **

* * *

Elena had gotten dressed in record time, as Damon had left, going into the kitchen to make breakfast.

She kind of felt bad that he'd cooked for them every morning since he'd moved in, but had to admit that it was a nice change.

Brushing on a little makeup, she pulled her hair up into a professional bun, and made sure everything was in place.

Once she was satisfied, she made her way to Chris's room.

Her son was still passed out, and she smiled at his sweet face.  
It was hard for her to look at him and know that soon he would be a man, instead of her little boy.

She brushed her hand over his hair.  
"Hey, sweetie. It's time to wake up."

Chris stirred some, as she shook him.

"Chris, come on, you're gonna be late for school."  
He sat up, "What?"

"School...that thing you seem to occasionally forget about."  
He nodded, "Yeah, sorry."

She smiled, "Just get dressed. Damon's making breakfast."  
Chris rubbed his face, "Okay, sounds good."

She kissed his forehead, before standing to leave.

She found Damon in front of the stove, flipping bacon.  
"Need any help?"

He looked back, smiled at her, then nodded, "Sure, you want to stir the eggs in that bowl?"  
"Yeah," she walked over to the counter, and grabbed the bowl he'd mentioned.

As she stirred, she could feel his eyes on her.

"Staring is rude," she smirked, and then felt his hands on her waist.  
"So is looking as good as you do," he shot back, planting a kiss on her exposed neck.

His hands gripped her hips a little harder, as his lips planted a path down to her shoulder, his tongue trailing.

"Mmhm," he purred, "You taste amazing."

"Down, Salvatore!" she commanded, with a laugh, as she turned in his arm.

With a smirk, he pressed himself against her, trapping her body between him and the counter, "How far _down_ do you want me?"

She blushed at his comment, "You know that I didn't mean it like that."  
"Yet, I don't hear you denying it either," he noted.

She shook her head, "You're a little full of yourself."  
He laughed, "Again, not a denial."

She gave him a set look, "God, are you going to kiss me already or not?"

He grinned, satisfied, before leaning down and connecting their mouths.  
His arms slid around her back, pulling her as close as possible.

She let her hands move from his chest and wrap around his neck, so she could run them through that silky hair of his.

He groaned his approval against her, his tongue darting out.  
She opened to him, and he deepened the kiss, making her head spin.

Maybe it was the lack of oxygen, or just the way Damon kissed, but her thoughts grew scattered, and she felt dizzy.  
But still, she kissed him.

"Hey, what's burning in he-"

Damon pulled away from her at the voice, and it took her a second to realize Christian was standing in front of them, with wide eyes.

Shit.

"Chris!" she exclaimed, her voice breathier than she would have liked, "We were um...we were-"

She looked over at Damon, who she could have sworn was blushing, but he was looking at Chris.  
"Making breakfast," he finished for her.

She nodded, as Damon reached over to turn the stove off.  
Chris seemed to be processing, "Oh. Breakfast. Right."

She couldn't read him, which made her nervous, but after a moment, he moved to the island and sat down, "So what are we having?"

* * *

Chris could feel the awkwardness in the air.

Though there was really nothing to be done about it, considering that he'd just walked in on his parents in a major liplock.

He'd been stunned.

Here he'd thought they were skating on the edge, only to find them "full force in the throws of major passion", or however April described it.

It was a little unsettling, and the image felt fried into his brain.

Damon pressed against his mother, her all wrapped around him, as they made out like two teenagers.

But it was different.

Something about the way they were pressed together, it was different than all the horny kids at school who'd have makeout sessions in front of the lockers.

This seemed more personal...intimate, almost.  
They'd been kissing each other, not as if they wanted to, but like they had to.  
As if it weren't even a choice.

He blinked as Damon set a plate of food in front of him, and mumbled a thanks.  
It looked amazing as usual, though the bacon was a little crisp.

Perhaps that had been the burning smell.

He shrugged, taking a bite, before realizing that his mother was still staring at him.  
He glanced up at her, and for a moment it seemed like she wanted to say something, but instead, shifted her gaze, moving to the sink to start on the dishes.

Yeah, getting out of here soon would be good; this silence was suffocating.  
But they probably couldn't think of anything to say either.

He watched as they avoided his gaze, and each others, busying themselves with the food, and cleaning.  
It was actually starting to become a little amusing.

They were acting like two kids that had just been scolded, and he hadn't even said anything.  
What could he say?  
What could they say, that would make this all less awkward?

He could mess with them so bad, and was half tempted to, but knew that that probably wouldn't help in the long run.

Luckily, Damon broke the silence, before he could focus on it too much more.  
"What class do you have last period, Chris?"

"English today," he answered, "Why?"

Damon glanced hesitantly at Elena before clearing his throat, "I just thought that maybe I could pick you up early. We could go to the Grill before it gets crowded, shoot some pool, talk..."

He had to keep the smirk off his face.  
Talk? Hmm, as if he didn't know what about.  
His mother's blush was sign enough.

"Sure, sounds good," he admitted, "But I really should go wait for the bus."  
"Is Tyler not picking you up today?" Elena asked.

He shook his head, "Nope, he has football practice this morning."  
"Oh," she seemed to consider something, "I'll walk you out then."

He nodded, standing, and threw his bag over his shoulder, "See you later, Damon."

His father nodded, telling him to have a good day, before he followed his mom out the door.

It was obvious that she wanted to talk.  
And by the way her hands wrapped around herself, he could tell it mattered a lot to her, to make her that nervous.

"You okay?" he asked, even though he was pretty sure he knew what this was about.  
She nodded as they reached the end of the drive, "Yeah. I just...look, about what you saw in there, with Damon, I'm sorry, Chris. I wasn't trying to-"

"Mom, it's fine," he stopped her, "I'm not upset."  
She blinked at him, "You're not?"

He shook his head, "No, I'm not. I'm not even that surprised. I saw the two of you last night..."  
Her cheeks were red now, and her voice came out a little desperate, "What did you see?"

"Damon in your bed," he answered, "I got up to get a drink and he wasn't on the couch. I...I was worried."

"Worried?" her tone was soft now.

"Yeah, that he'd...I don't know. Left or something. But his car was still here, so I walked down the hall...anyway, I saw him in your bed. I kind of figured that something was going on then."

She sighed, "I'm not exactly sure you could say that something's going on. But I want to be honest with you, Chris. No secrets."

He nodded, "I want that too, Mom."  
She exhaled, "Then answer something for me."

He waited.

"Would you hate it if I decided to give Damon another chance?"

Chris thought about that for a second.

His first response was to tell her to go for it.  
He wanted them together, he knew that now, but there were a few things to consider.

Like her getting hurt in the long run.  
But April was right. His mother is a big girl, who can handle herself.

"Is that what you want?" he asked instead.

She breathed, before nodding, "I think it is. I loved him, Chris, so much, and no one else has ever come close to making me feel that way since. And I think that there might still be something between the two of us. I'd really like to find out, but you are my first priority, baby, always. If you don't like it, then that's that. It's your life too."

He nodded, before moving to hug her, "If it's what you want, then I'm okay with it. If you're happy, I'm happy."

He swore her shoulders loosened as the tension left them, "You're sure?"  
She pulled away to look at him.

He nodded his head, "I swear. All I've ever known about Damon is what I've been told, but that's changing, and I like it. I like having him in our lives...just, promise me you'll be careful. You're my priority too, Mom."

She chuckled a little, just as they heard the bus turn onto their street.  
"I promise," she agreed, patting his cheek, "I love you, Christian."  
He smiled, "Love you too."

He turned to get on the bus then, as she waved goodbye.  
His mind felt as relaxed as her face now looked.

Things were probably about to change.

* * *

**Okay, so getting caught in a hot make out session? ;)**

**Lol, things are gonna move forward a little easier now!**

**So what did you think about the chapter? Review please! :)**


	30. Chapter 30

**New Chapter!**

**Let me know what you guys think!**

* * *

Elena walked back inside, her head swirling.

Chris had practically just given her the "go-ahead" she'd been needing, and admittedly, slightly dreading.

Chris was okay with her being with Damon.  
Part of her was ecstatic, but another part was scared beyond belief.

It was like her security wall had been shattered, and while this left her free to move forward, it also left her exposed.

She didn't have Chris as an excuse anymore, if things got too heated.  
But isn't that what she wanted, for things to get heated between her and Damon?

She opened the front door, walking inside.

Damon had been nothing but perfect since coming back.  
Sure, he'd made a bad choice, when leaving all those years ago, but she'd made plenty of wrong choices too.

Like keeping Chris a secret.  
She could see now how different things could have been if Damon had been able to be active in their son's life.

But where did that leave them, personally?

She knew what Damon wanted; he'd been clear about that since the beginning, but was she ready to jump into that with him?  
To let herself actually trust a man again, or worse, the very man who took that trust away in the first place?

It wasn't going to be easy...but she thought that maybe it could be worth it.

She let her mind drift back to the night before, when he held her in his arms.  
At first, she'd been afraid that their "feelings" was the left over sexual tension that clearly still existed between them, but that was only part of it.

Last night, once he'd come to her bed, hadn't been about sex.  
It was, as he had said, intimacy.

And she had definitely missed being intimate with a man, intimate with him.  
No one had ever known her better.

She moved toward the kitchen, where she caught sight of the man in question, rinsing off their plates and placing them on the drying rack.  
He looked comfortable in her kitchen, and she could imagine him being there every day, in her life, in Chris's.

But she had to be willing to take that chance.

He must have felt her staring, because he turned around, his gaze finding hers.  
"The bus come?" he asked, folding the rag he'd used and laying it across the divider in the sink.

She nodded, "Yep, it's just us now."  
He deliberated, before asking, "Is he mad? About what he saw? I mean, with us?"

She shook her head, "No, I don't think he is...he saw us last night."  
Damon's face lost some color, "On the couch? When we were-"

"No," she jumped to correct herself, "After that. He saw you in bed with me."  
"Oh."

Damon didn't really seem to know what to say, so Elena continued.  
"He noticed that you weren't on the couch. I think it freaked him out. He just assumed that you'd left again."

Damon blinked, then she watched as the guilt flooded his face, "I still have a long way to go, to earn his trust, don't I?"  
Elena sighed, stepping closer to him, "I think it's going to take time, yes, but I also think you're closer than you'd expect. He cares about you, Damon, already. I'm just not sure he knows that, yet."

He nodded, then looked up at her, "And what about you?"  
"What about me?" she challenged.

"Do you still care about me?" he asked, and she noted that same hesitant look he'd had last night.  
As if he was waiting for a rejection.

She took those last few steps forward, before deliberately grabbing his head, and pulling him down to her.

She kissed him slowly, pulling herself against him, and his arms wrapped around her waist.  
Her fingers interlaced at the nape of his neck, and she pulled back, though neither of them let go.

A little breathless, she answered, "You know I do."

His smile was melting, "Good...and do you trust me?"

She considered that, answering honestly, "I think I do. I mean, I trust you with Chris, obviously. I trust you not to leave us, but I have to admit that on everything between you and me, personally, I'm still a little hesitant."

He nodded, "That's good enough for me, sweetheart. I'll take whatever I can get."  
She smiled, kissing him again, "Thank you, for being patient with me."

He cupped her cheek, "I hurt you, Elena, I know that. And that's not going to magically go away. I'll do whatever I have to do," he dropped his forehead to hers, "to earn your trust...and your love."

She could tell by his blazing eyes that he meant it.

She closed her eyes, letting her body settle against his, "Just keep doing this."  
His arms tightened around her as she swallowed, "The rest will work itself out."

* * *

Chris loved English, he really did.  
Especially since they'd started writing the essays, which he was mostly finished with.

Now it was basically unlimited free time, as those who weren't finished were allowed to work, while those who are, were able to find quiet ways to entertain themselves.

"Seriously," Kol was whispering, as their group huddled their desk in the back of the class, "How are we supposed to have fun on Halloween if you two are stuck at the Fall Festival tomorrow?"

Tyler shrugged, "I don't know man, maybe after?"

"It'll be too late after," Jeremy pointed out, "We have to sneak into the hotel before the sun goes down, otherwise that stairway is too dangerous. Not enough light."

"We could use flashlights," Tyler suggested.  
"Only if you want to take the chance of falling six floors to your death," Kol reasoned.

Tyler shrugged, "Then I don't know. Maybe we'll just have to find something else to do."  
"Like what, exactly?" Jeremy asked moodily, "We've been planning this for months."

Chris, who'd been listening to them banter finally sighed, "You guys are acting like this is the end of the world. Shit happens. It sucks, but it does. We can't do the hotel this year, big whoop. There's always next year."

"Okay, then what do you suggest we do, instead?" Kol pressed.  
Chris shrugged, "Who said we had to do anything? Hell, why don't you two try being constructive and actually join me and Tyler on the set up committee?"

Jeremy scoffed, "You're kidding right? We have all night to do whatever, and you want to hang out at the town square?"  
"I'm sorry Jer," Chris eyed him, "Is that cutting into your plans of dressing up and going door to door for candy?"

"Screw you, man," Jeremy shot, "I'm just saying that those town events are lame. We need something with a little more action!"

"We could always sneak booze and babes out to the cemetery," Tyler offered.  
Chris rolled his eyes, "No."

"Why not?" Tyler shot.  
"Uh, okay, A, that plan sucks, and B...what I just said."

"Want to elaborate?" Tyler urged.

"Every cop in town is going to be out patrolling on Halloween, dumb-ass. I don't know about you, but if Liz catches me doing anything illegal again, my mother is likely to ship me off to some form of military academy."

"He has a point," Kol noted, "It would be too easy for the cops to bust us there."

"Thank you," Chris stated, "And while we're on the topic, you gotta stop calling the girls "babes" man. They don't like that much."

Tyler shrugged, "Whatever. So if you guys are too afraid of the police, what_ legal _things would you suggest?"

Chris considered this, "There's that Murder House that the theater's hosting in Grandville."

"Murder House?" Jeremy's nose cringed.  
"Yeah, it's like an assortment of Haunted houses or something," Kol explained, having heard of it before.

Chris nodded.  
"It's like what, a twenty minute drive? Cheap, close, scary, and," he turned to Tyler, "the _babes _would probably be up for it."

The others looked at each other, then Kol grinned, "Sounds good to me."  
Tyler nodded, "Yeah, I can drive. And I'll ask Vicki to come. Her car can hold at least four more."

"There you go," Chris smirked, "A little effort, and a new plan is all ready to go."  
"Yeah, yeah," Kol rolled his eyes.

Just as their conversation changed to who would look hottest in a nurse costume, the speaker from the office buzzed, calling Christian out.

They guys looked at him, "You in trouble?"  
He shook his head. He'd mentioned it to April that morning, but had forgotten to tell them that he was leaving, "Nah, I almost forgot, Damon's picking me up early today."

"Lucky," Kol shot, and Chris smirked.  
"See you guys later."

* * *

Damon was more nervous than he realized, as he spotted Chris in the hallway.  
He'd already signed the kid out, and they were free to leave.

"You got everything?" he asked, once Chris was close enough.  
His son nodded, "Yep. It's Friday, they don't assign much homework on the weekend."

"Ah," he noted, opening the doors of the building so they could walk out, to his car.

Once they got to the Camaro, Chris hesitated, "You fixed the window."  
Damon nodded.

He'd gotten the call that the piece had come in a few minutes after Elena had left for work.  
"Yeah, finally."

"Yeah...sorry 'bout that," Chris offered, seeming a little sheepish.  
Damon shrugged, "It's nothing that couldn't be replaced."

They got in the car, and he almost smirked at Chris's widened eyes.  
"This is nice," he stated, "What year is she?"

"1969," Damon praised, "I practically rebuilt the engine."  
Chris's brow raised at that, "You know cars?"

Damon had to laugh at that, "I do other things beside sing hit songs, you know."  
Chris smirked, "Yeah...but cars? Not everyone's thing."

"No," Damon admitted, "But it is something I use to enjoy, and occasionally mess with, seeing as the classics take constant looking after."

He started the car, a smile on his lips when she purred to life.  
He seriously loved this old thing.

"Nice," Chris offered, but other than that, fell silent.

Damon figured he'd wait until they got to the Grill, before starting another conversation.

* * *

**Alright, next chapter will be the Grill scene!**

**So what did you guys think?**

**Please review and let me know, it's always so motivating to hear your opinions! :)**


	31. Chapter 31

**This one is a lot longer than the last few!  
Hope you guys like...seriously, I was nervous about this chapter lol.**

* * *

"God, you're kicking my ass," Damon complained, "I thought you said you don't play much."

Chris laughed, lining up his pool stick for the next shot, "I don't really. But apparently I play more than you."

"I'll admit, the bars in L.A are a little more crowded," Damon stated, as Chris finally missed the shot, and he had a turn, "Though when I was in high school, I could beat anyone in a round."

He got the blue solid in and angled for another shot.  
This one he missed.  
"Damn."

Damon waited as Chris aligned his pole, before striking one of the conversations he knew they needed to have, "So, uh, tell me about April."

He really wanted to address this morning's situation, but knew that this would probably be the harder topic.

Chris looked up at him briefly, before taking the shot, and making it, "What about her?"  
Damon shrugged, "The two of you seem close...your mom told me that you'd been together a while."

Chris smirked a little, "Come on, Damon. If we're really gonna talk girls, how about we start with what's really on your mind."

He raised a brow, so Chris elaborated, "You and Mom...in the kitchen, this morning?"  
Damon nodded, "Yeah, I get it."  
"So..." Chris urged him.

Damon sighed, "I love her, Chris. I never meant to hurt her, and I'm going to make damn sure that I never do again."

His son stood straight, holding his gaze, "How can you know that you love her? I mean, you guys were young when you were together, and things change..."

"They do," Damon agreed, setting his pole aside so he could pick up his glass of water, "And you're right, we aren't the same kids we were back then, but I know what I feel. Elena's it for me, she always has been...and I love her."

Chris seemed to debate this, then finally asked, "Have you slept with her...since being back?"

Damon choked a little on the water he'd swallowed, not expecting that question.  
He sat the glass down and looked at Chris.  
He was serious.

"No, I haven't."

A look of relief came over him, "I wasn't sure. I saw you in her bed...and Grandpa had said some things..."

He trailed off, and Damon's brows furrowed, "Grayson?"  
Chris nodded.

"What did he say?" Damon pressed.  
"Just that he was afraid you were gonna use Mom, you know, as a booty call while you were back in town...I guess you can say that your reputation preceeds you."

Damon had to grit his teeth.

It was no secret that Grayson had issues with him, but he had no right to say things like that to a fifteen year old.  
Oh, he was going to have a talk with that man. Soon.

But right now, he had more important things to focus on.

"Chris, look at me," he demanded.  
When blue eyes met his own, he exhaled, "I'm going to be honest with you, alright."

His son nodded, and he continued, "I have made some poor choices in my life. I've used women for sex before, not even knowing their names, and I have my fair share of regrets because of it. I know exactly how bad my reputation is, because until I came back home, I didn't give a damn who thought what of me. I had no reason to."

His words were pointed, "But Elena never has been, and never will be just another tail for me to chase. I promise you that, Chris. Your mother is the only woman I ever gave a damn about, and I refuse to let Grayson, or anyone else convince you otherwise. I love her, Christian. I want to be in her life...and I want to be in yours."

He waited as Chris thought about what he'd said.

Finally, the boy nodded, "I know you care about her. I'm not blind. But I also know what she's been through since having me, and how lonely she's been. I don't want her to get hurt."

"Neither do I," Damon promised, "I have no intention of hurting her...or you, ever again."  
Chris eyed him, "Then what _do_ you intend, Damon?"

"To take this one step at a time," he admitted, "I want to give your mother the life that she wanted, the life she deserves, and I want her to be happy. But I also want you to be happy. I want to be involved in your life, and be the dad that _you_ deserve. And I also want your blessing."

Chris blinked, "My blessing?"

Damon nodded, "I want to be with Elena, Chris. And I'm not just talking about sex. I want to make her happy, take her on dates, treat her the way that I should have been all of your life. I want a real relationship with her again. But I know how much she loves you, and she respects your opinion. So I do too. If you don't want me with her...well, I won't be happy about it, but it's your call."

"What does it say that Mom literally asked me the same thing this morning?" Chris inquired, a bit of a smirk on his lips.

Damon blinked, "She did?"  
Chris nodded, "She wanted to know if I'd be okay with the two of you together."

"Ah," Damon swallowed, "And what did you tell her?"  
Chris eyed him, "That I want her to be happy, and that, as long as you can do that, I'm okay with it."

Damon felt the air rush from his lungs, and was surprised at how relieved he was.  
"You're sure?" he checked, and Chris nodded.

"Yeah...I told you, I'm not blind. I've seen the change in her, since you've been staying with us, and I want that for her."

"And what about you?" Damon asked.  
Chris crooked his head, "What about me?"

"What do you want? For you."

It seemed as though the question surprised him, "I...I'm not sure, actually."  
Damon nodded, "Well, there's actually something else I wanted to say to you, pertaining to that."

Chris's eyebrow raised, "Okay, what?"

Damon motioned to the table they'd been using for their drinks, and sat down.  
Chris followed, abandoning their game, and taking the seat across from him.

"Christian," he started, "I know I didn't get to be there for you, growing up...and I'm sorry for that. More than you could ever know, but I'm here now."

The boy nodded, "I know."

Damon shook his head, "I don't think you do. Look, you're mom told me about you seeing us in bed together...she also told me that when I wasn't on the couch, you assumed I'd taken off."

Chris shrugged, "It was a thought."

"Exactly," Damon noted, "That's what you thought of, when you couldn't find me. And I hate that. I hate that you can't trust me to stay here, for you or for your mom."

"It's not-"

Damon held his hand up, "It's okay," he assured him, "I didn't expect to earn your trust right from the start. I know it's something that I'm going to have to work for, but I need you to know, right now, that no matter what, I'm here for the long run, Chris. I meant it when I said I wanted to be in your life. I'm not going anywhere...I promise."

Chris's gaze was glued to his, "I want to believe you," he admitted, "But it's not something that I can just...yeah."

"I know," Damon nodded, "It's going to take time. But I had to say it, for both of us...you needed to hear it."

Chris nodded.

Encouraged, Damon continued, "Also, I needed to thank you."  
"For what?" Chris asked curiously.

"For taking care of your mother," Damon explained, "I wasn't around like I should have been, and you stepped up, became the man of the house and looked after her. So thank you."

Chris shrugged, "I had to. I couldn't let her get hurt again."

Damon nodded, "I know, and you did a great job at protecting her...but if you're okay with it, that's something that I'd like to do now."

Chris took a drink of his soda, "I already told you that I was okay with you two getting together," he reminded him.  
"Yeah, I know," Damon agreed, "But that's not what I meant."

His brows furrowed, so Damon explained, "I want the chance to be your father, Chris...and I want you to be a teenager. All these years, you've taken care of your mom. You worried about her, looked after her, and kept her from getting hurt. And I respect the hell out of you for that...but you never should have had to, Chris. You never should have had to be the man of the house. You were supposed to be a kid, and not have to worry about these things."

"It wasn't so bad," Chris acknowledged, "Me and Mom are closer because of it, I think."

"And that's good," Damon nodded, "But if you'll let me, I want to take that weight from you. You and your Mom spent so much energy trying to take care of each other that you never let yourselves be taken care of. So let me, please...I want to do this. For her, and for you, Chris."

Chris swallowed, seeming to process it all, looking down at his hands as he twirled the glass between them.

After a moment, he brought his gaze back up, meeting Damon's.

"Can I trust you with her?"  
"Yes."

He slowly exhaled, "What do I have to do, then?"

Damon smiled, "Nothing, son. Just enjoy your life, and know that nothing is going to happen to your mom, not while I'm here. I just want you both to be happy, and I'll do whatever I can to make sure that happens."

Chris nodded, "Okay."  
Damon was still smiling, "Okay."

* * *

An hour later, they had finished another game of pool, and had ordered food, which they were now munching down on.

Chris was surprised that they'd ordered the same thing.

A double meat and cheese bacon burger with lettuce tomato and avocado, topped with an onion ring.  
The only difference was that Damon's had pickles, where his didn't.

"Will you pass me the ketchup?" he asked, after eating one of the fries.  
Damon nodded, his own mouth full, and handed the bottle over.

Chris spread some on his plate, "April eats mustard with hers. It's so weird."  
Damon swallowed, "Hey, don't get started on weird, Mr. I-hate-pickles."

"I don't hate pickles," he noted, "I just don't like them on my sandwiches, or burgers."

"Exactly," Damon smirked, "Weird...but speaking of April...isn't it your turn to talk girls?"  
Chris chuckled, "I guess so...what do you want to know?"

"Just the generic stuff, I guess," Damon noted, "You, know, those things parents are supposed to know about the girl their son's dating."

Chris nodded, "Uh, okay, well...I've known her for a few years. She and her Dad moved back to Mystic Falls after her Mom died. We've gone to the same school since, and started going out last year."

"She seems nice," Damon noted.

Chris nodded, "She is. She's great, really. Stubborn, opinionated, and a little bossy at times, but she wouldn't be April if she was any different."

Damon eyed him, "It's pretty obvious that you care about her."  
He nodded, "Yeah...outside of our family, she's the most important person in my life."

"You love her?" Damon pressed.  
Chris felt a slight blush on his cheek at the admission, but nodded, "Yeah...I do."

Damon nodded, looking down at the food in front of him, and Chris got the impression that his mind had wondered elsewhere.

"What?" he inquired, and Damon's gaze snapped back to his.  
"Hmm?"

"You got this look on your face," Chris reasoned, and Damon sighed.

"Yeah...I need to ask you about something, and I can almost guarantee that it's going to be uncomfortable for the both of us."

"What?" Chris asked, though he had the slightest idea of where this was heading.  
"Not beating around the bush?" Damon offered, and he nodded.

His father sighed, "I think we need to talk about exactly how close you and April are."

He swallowed.  
This was exactly what he'd thought it was building up to.

"You're gonna give me the sex talk?" He asked, smirking a little at the irony.

Damon leaned back into his seat, "I'm not sure I'd call it that, exactly. But I'm not an idiot. I was young once, too, and I know exactly what it feels like to want to do more than just kiss with your girlfriend. But that doesn't make it right."

Chris bit his lip.  
This was definitely going to be awkward.

"Is this where you tell me how teenage sex will send me to hell and I should pray for my eternal soul?"

Damon's brows furrowed, "What?"  
Chris shrugged, "Pastor Young's words. I'm paraphrasing."

"Ah," Damon noted, "No, not exactly. But take it from me, sex at your age does have consequences...you're living proof of that."

"Uncle Stefan said the same thing," Chris remembered.

"Which leads me to my next point," Damon admitted, "There's nothing I can tell you now that you haven't already heard, or don't already know. I had every lesson in the book given to me at your age, and I still didn't listen."

"So, uh, why are we having this conversation then?" Chris questioned, "Seeing as you're not scolding me."

"I'm not trying to control you," Damon told him, "I don't think sex is a good idea at your age, and I don't like the idea of it, but I can't make you stop. I know from experience that telling someone "no" only makes them do it more...but I do want you to be aware of the risks you're taking."

Chris sighed, "Okay."  
He was pretty sure that Damon was going to tell him either way, so he'd sit back and listen.

"You care about April," Damon stated.  
Chris nodded, "Yeah."

"And you know that getting her pregnant would pretty much destroy any future plans she has?"  
"We use protection," he shot.

"Is she on birth control?"  
Chris nodded, "Yeah, and we use condoms."

"Even so, things still happen," Damon reasoned, "You need to be careful, Chris...you don't want to do to April what I did to your mother."

He swallowed.  
Damon had a point.

If April got pregnant, it would ruin her life...just like it had ruined his mother's.  
But they were being safe...and people had safe sex all the time without having kids.

"You also need to watch the age thing," Damon told him.  
"We're minor's," Chris stated confusedly.

"For now," Damon told him, "But she's younger than you...and her dad is a pastor. There's a chance that he'll make your life hell if he found out."

"Yeah..."

Chris imagined a scenario where April's dad did find out.  
None of the scenes ended well in his mind.

"Anyway," Damon ate one of his fries, "I just needed to make sure you were aware of what could happen...and that you were being smart about this."

Chris nodded, "I am...and we are."  
"Good," Damon swallowed, "If you're going to do it, I'd rather you at least be safe about it."

"We never have sex without protection," Chris admitted, his face still feeling a little warm.  
"Neither did me and your mom," Damon informed him, "It only takes that once."

"I'll be careful," Chris promised.  
Damon eyed him, "I'd rather you not take the chance at all, but I haven't exactly earned the right to tell you not to, yet."

Chris nodded and they fell silent.

It almost got awkward, but then the waiter came to refill their drinks, and Damon turned him down.  
"I think we're about done here."

Seeing as they both only had a few fries left, Chris as inclined to agree.

"You ready kiddo?" Damon asked, as the waiter gave them a check.  
Chris nodded, "Yeah, Mom should be home soon anyway."

Damon signed the receipt, and threw down some money for a tip, "Good, we can go then."  
Chris nodded, and they stood.

On the way out to the car, Damon paused.  
"Hey Chris?"

He looked up at him, "Yeah?"

"I don't want you to think that this means I don't like April, okay...because I do. She's a pretty good girl, and I'm glad you have her."

He smiled a little, "Thanks."

As Damon opened the door to the car, he nodded, "Just be sure you're treating her right."  
"I do," Chris promised, and thankfully, Damon let it drop.

They got in the car, and headed home.

* * *

**Done.**

**What did you think?  
Did it go the way you expected?**

**I know some of you were expecting Chris to be a little angry, but personally, I think he'd recognize that Damon has experience, and would at least hear him out.**

**Please review and let me know what you think!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Woo passed the 600 mark!  
You guys are awesome! :) Thank you so much!**

**Hope you enjoy! **

* * *

Elena had gotten off work early, surprisingly, seeing as she had already finished her article for the week, and Elijah was apparently feeling lenient.

She walked out of the building with Caroline.

"Okay spill!" the blond demanded, "I've been dying for details all week,and you are being irkingly vague!"  
Elena smiled, "I haven't been vague, I've been processing."

"Aaaand?" Caroline pressed.  
"Damon's staying," Elena said, liking the way those words rolled off her tongue, "He's really staying."

Caroline hesitated as they reached their cars, "For Chris, or for you?"  
"Does it matter?" She asked.  
"Definitely," Caroline shot.

Elena sighed, "Both, I think."

"So you two are together?" Caroline fished.  
She smiled, "I think we are. I mean, I told you we kissed...and we've kissed a bit more since then."

"Just kissed?" Caroline was almost pouting.  
"Is that bad?" Elena's brow rose.

"No," her friend sighed, "I was just hoping you'd have gotten laid by now."  
"Caroline!" Elena laughed, "Seriously?!"

"What?!" she defended, "It's probable worry! You haven't dated in forever! A girl can go crazy with that kind of pent up lust!"

Elena shook her head, "You would go crazy. I'm handling it fine...though I have to admit, we have had moments."  
Caroline's eyes lit up, "Moments? Moments are good, right?"

Elena smirked, "Definitely. But I needed to be sure Chris was okay with me being with Damon before I actually felt okay with letting anything else happen."

"And from that smitten look on your face, I take it Chris loves Damon just as much as you do?"

Elena shrugged, "I'm not sure about all that, but they are definitely making progress. And Chris did tell me that he'd be alright with me and Damon being more than...whatever we are."

"That's great!" Caroline smiled, "You guys can all be a family now!"  
Elena motioned toward her car, "Speaking of family, we should probably get home to ours."

Caroline nodded, "Yeah, probably."

Elena grinned, "So I'll see you at the Fall Festival tomorrow?"  
"Of course!" The blond stated, "Don't forget that Valentina wanted us to bring a desert for the bake sale."

Elena froze, "Shit."  
"You forgot," Caroline's eyes widened, "It's too late for you to order a pie, now! Oooh, she's gonna strangle you!"

"No, no, I'll bring something! I just have to get it tonight, and make it."  
Caroline scoffed, "Wait...you're actually going to make it?"

"Are you suggesting I can't?" Elena challenged.  
"No," her friend reasoned, "I'm just reminding you that your cooking skills are barely passable, and your baking skills are even worse."

She blinked, "Thanks, Care."

"Hey, I'm just being honest," the blond smiled, "But then again, you have Damon to help you, so go for it."  
Elena rolled her eyes, "I can bake a damn pie."

"Sure," Caroline allowed, opening her car door, "Just make sure you have something. Or your likely to be murdered tomorrow."

She smirked, "Valentina isn't that eccentric."  
"No, but your mother is," Caroline pointed out."

Elena nodded, "True...maybe I'll just go to her place and get some stuff. She's always baking."  
Caroline nodded, "Good luck. Call me later though."

"I will," Elena promised, and they waved goodbye.

She got into her own car, sending a text to Damon, letting him know that she was going to stop by her parents house for dessert ingredients, before coming home.

* * *

As she walked into her childhood home, the smell of sweets hit her nostrils.  
No telling what her mother was up to in here.

"Mom?" she called out.  
"Kitchen!" the voice answered.

She walked that way, finding her mother and father both in the room, Miranda placing a plate of cookies out, while Grayson was trying to eat them.

"Elena, sweetie!" Miranda smiled, "Come help for a second?"  
She nodded, shedding her coat, and walking over, "What do you need?"

"Move the cakes to the counter, so I have more room on the island. I tried to get your father to help, but he's more interested in eating them."  
She laughed, and did as she was asked.

Once everything was in place and the cookies were all setting out, Miranda turned and hugged her, "This is a surprise."

Elena nodded, "Yeah I know. I just got off work, and remembered that I was supposed to bring a dessert for tomorrow. I was hoping you had something I could take home and make, so that I didn't have to make a late night run to the store."

Miranda nodded, "Yeah, of course! There's another two dozen cookies I need baked, and I think I have stuff for pecan pie."

"That'll work," Elena smiled, "Thanks."  
Miranda nodded, "No problem. Let me go check the pantry."

She walked off, and Grayson cleared his throat, "So, uh, where's my favorite grandson?"  
Elena looked up at him and smirked, "He's also you're only grandson."

"Minor details," her father joked.  
Elena shook her head, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's actually with Damon."

That was all it took for Grayson's expression to darken, "You're leaving him alone with that man now?"  
Elena felt herself grow defensive, "It's not like he's a serial killer, Dad. Chris is his son."

"Poor boy," Grayson spat, and Elena grit her teeth.  
"Just drop it, alright."

"Sure," Grayson nodded, "As soon as you explain to me the logic of your thinking."  
"I don't have to explain anything to you," Elena reminded him.

Grayson stiffened, "No, you don't. But I did figure that you cared about Chris enough to make the right choices."

She met his gaze, "I _am_ making the right choices, Dad. And it's letting Chris have the relationship with Damon that he should have had years ago."

"You're gonna get that boy in a world of trouble, Elena. You don't know what Damon's been doing all these years, or what he's exposing your son to. Hell, at the very least, Chris is going to be destroyed when Damon eventually leaves again."

Elena shook her head, "You really don't get it do you? Damon's staying dad. He's going to be a part of Chris's life, and a part of mine. And if that bothers you, you need to find a way to get over it, because frankly, I don't give a damn what you think."

Miranda walked back in then, but Grayson was too heated to mind, "You're being naive, Elena! You really think you can change a man like that? Running is in his nature, mark my words. He's only here because he's wanting down your pants, and God knows you've probably given it to him the second he gave you a compliment."

"Grayson!" Miranda chided.  
"I'm not going to let her ruin her life again," Grayson shot, turning to his wife."

"It's not our business," Miranda reminded him as she handed Elena a bag of the ingredients she needed, "Let it go."  
"The hell I will," he hissed, "Damon Salvatore is nothing but trouble."

"You don't know him," Elena spit, "He's done nothing but try since he's been back. He wants to be here with us...and I want him here. You can assume whatever you like, but how dare you insinuate that I don't care about Chris! That's low even for you. And all the shit that you told him about Damon...that wasn't your place. You had no right!"

"Elena-"  
"No, I don't want to hear it," she shot, "I'm going home to my son, and to Damon. You can call me when you grow up and get over yourself."

She turned to leave, saying a quick thank you to Miranda, as she grabbed her coat.

"Don't you walk away from me, Elena," Grayson demanded, coming up behind her as she made her way to the door.  
"Damn it, I am still your father."

She ignored him, hurrying down the front steps and to her car.

He watched her from the front porch, but she didn't have it in her to feel bad.  
She was so done with it.

All she wanted was to get home to her men.

* * *

Damon had a feeling that something was wrong with Elena the second she got home.  
She didn't say much, but something about her seemed distant.

She'd wondered about where Chris was, and he'd had to explain how an hour after they'd gotten home, that Tyler kid and some others had stopped by, wanting to know if Chris could go study with them for a little bit.

Damon wasn't sure that they were actually going to study on a Friday night, but knew that he had to start trusting his son, if he wanted Chris to trust him, and had let him go.

Elena had nodded, unbothered, before announcing that she was going to start on something in the kitchen.

"You okay?" he asked, calling after her retreating back.  
"Yup," she answered, and he shrugged.

Maybe she had just had a long day at work.  
He turned on the TV and let it go.

A while later, he had just finished folding out his bed again, when Chris opened the door.

"You're home earlier than I expected," Damon noted.

Chris nodded, "Yeah, Mrs. Lockwood decided that we were talking more than studying, and she cleared us out."

"Ah," Damon noted.

"Where's Mom?" Chris inquired.  
Damon motioned toward the kitchen, "She went that way earlier."

Christian made his way toward the kitchen, and Damon finished throwing his pillow at the top of his blankets.

He had half hoped he'd get to stay in Elena's bed, but didn't want to assume anything, especially with how new this all was to them.

A few seconds later, he heard Chris yell, "Uh, Damon. You might want to get in here."  
Then Elena's protest of, "God, Chris, I said I had this, okay you don't have to-"

She stopped as Damon stepped into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" he questioned, eyeing them.  
"Nothing," Elena insisted.

"She's trying to make a pie for the Fall Festival tomorrow," Chris explained.  
Damon's brows furrowed, "I offered to help you."

Her hands landed on her hips, "But your mother told me to bring something. Me. Not you. And seeing as you can't really mess up pie that badly…"

He chuckled, "Oh you can definitely mess up pie."

"Seriously Mom," Chris nodded, "You should just let Damon do it…we all know how questionable your skills are in the kitchen."

She shook her head at the both of them, "You two are horrible. I can make pie if I want. Besides," she turned to grab a pad of paper off the counter, " Mom wrote down the recipe so I wouldn't mess it up. So ha."

Damon moved before Elena could react, and grabbed the paper from her fingers.  
"You mean this recipe?"

She made a jump for it, and he held it above his head.

"Oh, come on. You gotta do better than that, sweetheart."  
Elena groaned, "You're kidding me."

She jumped again, and Damon winked, yelling, "Head's up Chris!" before tossing the paper to him.  
He caught it easily, and Elena whirled to him, "Chris, give it back."

He glanced over it, moving it just as she made a grab for it.  
"This doesn't even sound all that good," he insisted.

"Christian James! Give it back or you are grounded for the rest of your life."  
She lunged, and he tossed it back to Damon.

"Come on, Elena," he teased, "You know that I could make it better anyway."  
She crossed her arms, "I'm not going to admit that, because my pie will be kick ass! Now give me my recipe!"

He held it out to her, but when she reached for it, he threw it back to Christian.  
"I'm going to kill both of you," she promised, dashing for Chris who had ran around the island.

Elena caught his arm, and pulled down on it, "Give!"

Chris struggled against her before extending the hand holding the paper to Damon.  
"Take it!"

Damon laughed at Elena's face when he grabbed it.

She let go of Chris, growling, "You two suck!"  
Chris chuckled, "It's for the good of the town!"

Damon nodded his agreement as Elena stuck out her tongue at them, "I hope everyone hates your pie."  
"Not possible," Damon insisted, "Especially since Chris is gonna help me make it."

Chris smirked, "I am?"  
"Yup."  
He grinned, "Alright!"

Elena huffed loudly, shooting them death glares.

"Mom, just face it," Chris placed an arm on her shoulder, "You're outnumbered here."

She shook her head, "How is this even happening right now?"

Damon grinned, "It's a Salvatore thing, right Chris?"  
Chris was smirking, "Right, Dad."

* * *

Damon blinked.  
Elena's breath caught.  
And Christian's eyes widened, as realization of what had just left his mouth hit him.

"I…I just mean that…" the boy seemed to stumble over his words, swallowing as a light blush began coloring his skin.

Damon crossed the room before could process what he was doing, and pulled his son into his arms.

Chris was stiff at first, then finally, he relaxed, his own arms wrapping around Damon's back.

Damon held him tighter, suddenly feeling the need to cry.  
He swallowed, fighting it back.

Elena however, was showing no restraint, as he caught her eye over Christian's shoulder, tears were beginning to stream down her face, but she was smiling.

"Oh, boys," she whispered, "My boys."

* * *

**I really loved writing that last scene!**

**I've been dying to reach this part of Damon and Chris's development!**

**Also, gonna be starting a little drama with Grayson soon!**

**Please review with opinions! :)**


	33. Chapter 33

**Next Chapter! :)**

**Thanks for all the reviews you guys have left! **

**Sorry it's taking me a while to update, but I'm trying to get as much written as I can!**

* * *

Elena sipped on her glass of wine as she watched the scene before her.

After the three of them had finished the desserts, and set them out to cool, they'd moved to the living room.

Damon had taught Chris some card game, and the two had been sitting cross-legged on the floor, playing it on the coffee table, for the past hour.

"Three points," Chris cheered, and Damon made a mark on the paper between them.  
"I'm still up by two," He noted, and their son shrugged, "For now."

Damon chuckled, "Get cocky, and you'll lose, trust me."  
"Shuffle?" Chris prodded.

Damon did just that, and Chris leaned back, looking at Elena, "So the guys and I were talking about doing something for Halloween, tomorrow..."

Elena raised a brow, "Is this your way of trying to get out of helping set up?"  
He shook his head, "No, I mean after that."

"Ah, and what exactly did _the guys_ have in mind?"

Chris straightened, "Driving over to Grandville to check out their haunted house. I think they're getting a group together."

Elena eyed him, "Did you forget the part where you were grounded?"  
He smiled at her, "I was kind of hoping we could let that slide for the sake of holiday spirit?"

"Nice try, kid," she smirked, "But rules are rules."

His face fell a little, and she did feel guilty, but she was sticking to her guns. Letting him off the hook wasn't going to teach him anything.

Damon spoke then, "How long is he grounded?"  
"Another three weeks," Chris pouted.

Damon's brows furrowed, as he met Elena's gaze, "Is one night really going to make that much of a difference?"

She blinked at him, "Yes. He's grounded. Meaning that he's not allowed to go out on the weekends to hang out with friends."

"But it is a holiday," Damon reasoned.  
"Not an excuse," she stated, "Sorry, but you know what they say about crime and time."

Chris sighed, "Well, is there another way I could go? Like if I agreed to be grounded for an extra week?"

Elena crooked her head, "Then there's no point in even grounding you."  
He shrugged, "You're words."  
She chuckled, but shook her head.

Damon dealt the cards, then looked at her again, "Oh come on, Elena. He's been behaving. Surely he's earned at least one night of parole?"

She eyed the two of them, and Chris gave her a begging face, puppy eyes, pursed lips, and all.

She sighed, "Fine. One night. And I want you home by 11:30."  
A grin spread on his face, "Yes, ma'am."

She nodded, satisfied, as he looked at Damon and mouthed, "Thank you."  
Damon too, was smiling, as they started the next round.

It didn't take them long to get through the game, Damon winning by one point.

"There's always next time," he promised, and Chris nodded.  
"Next time, for sure," he stood, and stretched, "What time do we have to be at the square tomorrow?"

"Eight," Elena answered.  
Chris groaned, "Okay, well, I'm going to go take a shower and get ready for bed."

Elena nodded, "Alright. Goodnight, then."  
"Goodnight," he repeated, turning down the hall.

Damon moved then, sitting across from her on the couch.  
His arm came around her easily, and she leaned into him.

"You know that he really shouldn't be going out when he's grounded, right?"

She felt him nod, "I know. But one night isn't going to hurt anything. And the kid's only young once. He can go back to being grounded tomorrow."

She smirked, "And this of course has nothing to do with you coming off as the cool guy, right, _Dad_?"

Damon chuckled, "Of course not...and I'm still processing that little bombshell...It feels so surreal."

She smiled, but grew serious, "I'm guessing the talk went well today?"  
He nodded, "I think it did."

She looked up at him, "You want to tell me about it?"  
He shrugged, "Nothing to really say. We just talked, and we at least know that he's being safe about everything."

She sighed, "I wish there was a way to just make them be smarter about it, you know? Make them stop."

"Yeah," he agreed, "But unfortunately, we can only do so much."  
She nodded, and the fell into silence.

Then Damon shifted, "So, are you going to tell me what was up with you?"  
She blinked, "What do you mean?"

"You were bothered earlier."

She sighed, "It's stupid."  
"Not if it was upsetting you," he insisted.

She took another sip of her wine, before setting the glass down, "It's my father."  
"What about him?" Damon inquired.

"I went over there today, to get this stuff from Mom, and he had a few choice words to say about me leaving Chris alone with you."

She felt Damon stiffen next to her, and she exhaled, "He was just running his mouth, but it really pissed me off. I tried to leave, he got angry, and I drove off."

Damon sighed then, kissing the top of her head, "I'm sorry things happened that way. I need to have a talk with Grayson."  
Elena shook her head, "I'm kind of worried about what might happen if you do."

"Nothing," Damon assured her, "I don't want to fight with him, Elena...but he needs to know that his opinion needs to stay personal. He has no right to force it on to you and Chris."

"What else has he said to Chris?" she asked, noting his tone.

"That I wanted to use you as an easy fuck," Damon bit, "Which is not something he needs to be telling your son, no matter how he feels about me."

Elena's annoyance rose, "He seriously told him that?"  
"Not those words exactly," Damon allowed, "But yeah, pretty much."

"I should have done a lot more than yell at him," she spat, shaking her head.  
Damon squeezed her shoulder, "He'll get over it."

"He'll have to," she agreed, "Because I plan on keeping you here for a while."  
Damon smiled a little, "And I planned on being here a while."

"Good," she smirked, looking up into his eyes.

Without hesitation, he leaned down his head, kissing her softly.  
She could so get use to the feel of his mouth on her own.  
It was utter perfection.

"Elena," he whispered, leaning back.  
She opened her eyes, staring straight into his blue orbs.

A knock on the door made her jump, though, and they broke apart.

"Elena?" a voice called, "Elena, I know you're home, open the door."

It was her father.

"Speaking of the devil," Damon shot.  
She sighed.

"Elena, come on, open up. I see your car, I know you're home. I need to talk to you."

The knocking continued, getting louder.

"Damn it, Elena, I'll bang on your door until it wakes up all the neighbor's, I don't care!"  
She groaned, standing.

Damon grabbed her arm, "You sure?"  
She nodded, "I need to get rid of him."

He bit his lip, but let her go.

She opened the door, just as the pounding got louder, and stepped outside, forcing Grayson to take a few steps backwards.

"What do you want?" She demanded.  
"We need to talk Elena."

"So talk," she shot, crossing her arms."

"You're making a mistake," he started, "I know that you've been lonely lately, but that's no excuse to play house with Damon, just because he's showing you attention again."

Her brow raised, "Wow. And here I had been hoping for an apology."

"I'm not sorry for wanting to look out for you."  
She rolled her eyes, "I have 20/20 vision, Dad, I can look out for myself."

"Well you're doing a hell of a job. Letting Damon Salvatore back into your life isn't only irresponsible, but it's selfish."

"Selfish how?" She demanded.

"You're doing it for you," he spat, "Not Chris. And you aren't thinking of how it will affect him if this all blows up."

She felt rage at her words, enough that she pushed him away from her, as she fought the urge to slap him.

"How dare you! No one cares about Chris more than me, and he has always came first! You have no right to call me selfish! You don't know the first thing about the situation! I think you're just bored. You have no more purpose to your own life, so you have to ruin any shred of happiness I might have in mine!"

"You're kidding yourself if you think you're going to find happiness with _him_!" Grayson challenged.  
Elena shook her head, "I told you, I'm done with this. You can leave my property."

She pushed past him, going inside, ignoring his demands that she stop.

* * *

Damon caught the look on Elena's face as she shut the door behind herself, Grayson's yells following.

He reacted immediately when the handle rattled, as the man tried to open the door.

Stepping around her, he grabbed the knob, as it opened, coming face to face with Grayson Gilbert.

The fire in the man's eyes was proof of his hatred.

Damon stepped out, pulling the door behind him.  
"I want to see my daughter," he hissed, "I need to talk to Elena."

Damon shook his head, "Not tonight, you don't."  
Grayson grew furious, "Who the hell do you think you are, Salvatore?!"

Damon grit his teeth, forcing himself to remain calm.  
Getting into it with the man now wasn't going to win him any favors.

"I think you need to leave, Grayson."

"You don't get to tell me what to do when it comes to my family," the man reprimanded.

Damon stared at him, "Elena's already upset. Unless you take the time to let you both cool down, it's only going to get worse."

"I don't have to listen to a thing you say," Grayson insisted, trying to push past him.

Damon stood his ground, "Actually, I think you do. Elena doesn't want you here. She's upset, and you need to leave her alone."  
"You're the one that needs to leave her alone," he spat.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Mr. Gilbert, but whatever is going on between Elena and myself is none of your damn business."

"It's my business if it affects my daughter," he insisted, "And I'm not going to let you destroy her life again."

"Again?" Damon's annoyance flared, "In case you've forgotten, it was at your suggestion that I left. A decision, I'm sure you regretted after finding out about Chris."

Damon watched Grayson's eyes flash, "You were the sorry son of a bitch that got her pregnant in the first place!"

"And I would have stayed to take care of her, and our baby," Damon growled, "Had I of known what was going to happen, I never would have taken your advice and left."

"But you did leave," Grayson reminded him, "You left, and Elena raised Chris all on her own. She didn't need you then, and she doesn't need you now. My daughter may not see it, Damon, but I do. I know exactly what kind of man you are. And I'll be damned if you bring all of that into my town, into my family!"

"You mean into _my_ family," Damon corrected, "Chris is my _son_, Grayson, whether you like it or not. I can admit that I haven't been a model citizen, but I'm doing what I can. I care about Christian, and Elena. Say what you want, but I'm staying here, for them."

"Chris is only your son by blood, Salvatore," Grayson deemed, "You can never be the father that he'll need. You'll just corrupt him, until he's as bad as you, and I won't let that happen."

"You don't have a choice," Damon told him, "Though I can see that you've already tried to do what you could. Speaking of, we need to talk about what you've been telling my son."

"What do you mean?" Grayson grit.

"I'm talking about the tale you spun of how I changed Elena's mind. How she wanted to be a doctor, and would be happier with that life. That was never true, and you know it. She never wanted to follow in your shoes. She wanted to write. She'd always wanted that. And telling a fifteen year old that I was only using his mother for sex...seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?! I don't care if that's what you think, even though it's not true. You still shouldn't be saying things like that to a teenage boy."

"Why? Afraid it'll ruin his image of you?" Grayson spat.

"No," Damon disagreed, "I let my actions speak for themselves, and I've been nothing but honest since I've arrived. Still, that's not something a kid needs to hear. It's not his responsibility to worry about that, and you should know better!"

"I do know better," Grayson hissed, "Better than to let you walk in and take over Elena and her son's life. You ruin things, Damon, and you'll destroy them."

"You don't know me," he spat, "You don't know a damn thing about the person I've become. I'm not some punk kid sneaking out of Elena's window anymore, Grayson. I'm a successful adult, your grandson's father, and I'm in love with your daughter. As long as they'll have me in their lives, I don't give a damn what you think about it! Because I made the mistake of listening to you once, and I'm not dumb enough to do it again."

He heard an exhale of breath behind him, and looked over his shoulder.

Both Elena and Chris were standing in the slightly opened doorway.

Grayson followed his gaze and saw them, "Elena-"  
"Damon, come inside, please," was all she said.

Damon blinked at her, then looked back at Grayson.  
He sighed, then nodded, doing as she asked.

She hesitated in the doorway a moment, so he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You need to leave Dad," she stated calmly, "We'll talk tomorrow."

Damon barely caught the defeated look on Grayson's face, before she had shut the door and turned around.

She took a deep breath, as Chris stood there, looking between the two of them.  
"Is everything okay?" he asked, his voice hesitant.

Damon nodded, "It will be. You're grandpa just needs some time to get use to the idea."  
Chris sighed, "I hope you're right...you okay Mom?"

Elena looked up, offering him a little smile, "I'm fine...but you should probably head on to bed."

Chris nodded, leaning over to kiss her cheek, "I love you."  
"I love you too."

Then, hesitantly, he looked up at Damon, "Goodnight, Dad."  
Damon smiled a little, patting the boy's shoulder, "I'll see you in the morning, son."

Chris nodded, before heading back to his room.

* * *

Elena looked at Damon.

"Damon..."  
He stared into her eyes, "Hmm?"

"You told him...you said that you were in love with me..."  
He nodded, "I did."

"Did you mean it?" she asked quietly.  
He nodded, slowly, "Absolutely."

She was in his arms then, kissing him hard.  
He pulled her into his body, using the door to hold them.

Finally, she pulled away, "Goodnight, Damon."  
He exhaled, "Goodnight, Elena."

* * *

**Please review and let me know what you think!**

**I took me a while to get the conversation the way I wanted, so I'd really love to here your opinions!**


	34. Chapter 34

**Wow.  
****Over 700 reviews! You guys are so amazing!  
****Thank you SO much for the inspiration! :)**

**Hope this chapter makes up a little for the wait!**

* * *

Elena had barely slept.  
Which wasn't a good thing, seeing as she had to be up and active by six.

But she couldn't help it.

The whole confrontation with her father had lingered in her mind, long after all the lights had been turned out.  
She was so pissed at him.

Everything was working out suspiciously well for her, Damon, and Chris, and for once, all she wanted was to just ride it out and see what happened, but Grayson wasn't going to just drop this.

It wasn't fair.

After all this time, and all of the crap they'd had to deal with, she thought that they'd earned the right to attempt to make this whole family thing work, but it would be impossible if her father insisted on breathing down their necks.

She'd have to talk to him again.  
Really talk to him.  
Because whether he liked it or not, Damon was going to be apart of her life.

He...loved her.  
Still.

She'd been stunned to hear him admit it last night, to Grayson, but Damon wasn't casual with his words.  
Not to say he wouldn't have a fresh perspective later.

She hadn't said it back, she remembered. She hadn't assured him that she felt the same.  
But did she?

She'd always loved him, of course, and because of Chris, she always would, but was she in love with him?  
With Damon, the man, not Damon, her high school boyfriend?

The two were similar, but there were differences.

Damon was everything she'd always known he could be, he was the same in so many ways, still that love struck teen that looked at her as if she was everything to him.

But those blue eyes were deeper now, somehow, more complicated.  
There were so many factors to take into account.

Like Chris.

He'd given them both the okay on a relationship, but part of her felt selfish, as if she was taking Damon away from him, before they'd even really gotten to know each other.

Of course, it was a silly thought, but she'd messed up before, and she didn't want to take advantage of this rare second chance she'd been given.

Slow was still good in her opinion, and maybe that's how her feelings were meant to come. Easily, calmly, without her even realizing it.

She wanted to laugh.

There was no easy with Damon. Ever.  
It was a full speed, passion crashed, all at once, kind of thing.  
And she couldn't deny that there were feelings of some kind sparking between them.

Which is why she hadn't invited him to bed last night.  
She couldn't trust herself, not with him.

Time, she reminded herself.  
Just go with it, and see what happens.

She had to remember that Damon wasn't off limits anymore.  
That if she was going to give this a real chance, she had to stop worrying about protecting herself, and she had to stop hiding.

She just needed to let go, and focus on feeling.  
Stop trying to rationalize through everything that happened in her life.  
Even if it was easier said than done.

Finally, deciding that laying there, pondering the in's and out's of her choices, wasn't going to get anything done, she threw off her blankets and sat up.

She ran a hand through her hair, stretched her muscles, and had checked her phone, when a knock sounded on her door.

* * *

Damon wasn't sure what to expect from Elena.

Last night, she'd been a little on edge, understandably, and had kissed him after his little "love" slip.  
He had hoped that was a sign of her acceptance.

Because he did love her.  
So much.

And he planned on taking every day to prove it to her, starting with this morning.  
He'd gotten up with the sun and had prepared coffee, hoping that she wouldn't mind it a little strong.  
He'd added the cream and sugar, before walking down the hall, and quietly knocking on her door.

A scuffle, and a few light footsteps later, the door opened, revealing a clearly tired Elena.  
He raised the cup in his hand, "Coffee?"

Her eyes went from flat to bright in a second, as a smile spread across her lips, "God, yes."  
He chuckled, handing it to her.

She took a sip, walking back into the room, inclining her head, silently giving him permission to follow.  
"Thank you," she addressed, taking another drink.  
He nodded, "I figured you'd need it."

"You guessed right," she agreed, "Did you make more?"  
Again, he nodded, "A whole pot."

She sauntered over to her closet, trying to decide what to wear, "Good, because I feel like I could just pour it down my throat."  
He raised a brow, taking a seat at the bottom of her bed, "I take it that you didn't sleep either?"

She shook her head, "Not really...thank God for make up."  
"You'd look perfect either way."  
She shot him a look, but didn't comment.

He, however, was being completely honest.  
Even in the short time he'd been back around her, he'd noticed how well she was aging.  
She didn't need the make up.

Hell, even like this, she made his heart beat faster.

Tasseled hair, an over-sized shirt hanging off her shoulder, flashing the strap of her bra, and what appeared to be silk night shorts showing off her long dark legs...she was every man's fantasy.

And she was _his_.  
At least, he hoped so.

She had yet to officially signal to him that she was ready to progress anywhere with their "maybe" relationship, but he could see it in her face when she looked at him.  
They belonged together, and they both knew it.

She sat the mug down on her dresser, before reaching into the closet and pulling out a pair of faded jeans, and a formfitting long-sleeve blouse.

She noticed his smirk when she glanced over at him, "What?"  
He shrugged, "Nothing...just...that's what you're wearing for Halloween? Doesn't seem very festive."

She grabbed a throw pillow from the bottom of the bed and playfully tossed it at him, "It's not my costume, jerk. We have to go set up this morning. The actual festival won't start until five."

"My bad," he chuckled, "Glad to see you have it all figured out."

"I do," she stated, sliding off her shorts as she spoke, "So all I need you to do is worry about breakfast, and then help me load the bags of candy, the pie, and the cookies, into the car."

"Yes ma'am," he grinned teasingly, but the greater part of his attention was lingering elsewhere.

The shirt Elena wore covered her to the top of her thighs, but when she turned to fight her jeans off their hanger, it rose ever so slightly, allowing him a glance of something lacy and pink.

He shamelessly ogled her backside, loving the way her legs curved up into shaping her ass.  
God, she really was perfect.

"See something you like?" her voice called, making his eyes jump back up.  
She was glancing at him, over her shoulder, and he may have blushed the slightest bit.

"Definitely," he confirmed, raking over her again, "Though you're the one doing the strip tease, so you shouldn't be surprised."  
Her mouth opened for a moment, then closed, as she gathered her thoughts, "I was not strip teasing," she finally defended, "I was getting dressed, as we talked. Not my fault you can't control where your eyes go."

He narrowed said eyes, "Like you didn't give two thoughts to the fact that you're prancing around me in your underwear."  
A curious look passed her face, "Actually," she looked down, "I'm still technically covered."

She pulled out the hem of her shirt, as if to confirm the fact, then she walked over to him, "And I don't prance."  
He cautiously brought his hands to her waist, pulling her until she stood between his legs, "Okay, you may not prance, but I still call bullshit on the innocent act. You knew you were strip teasing."

A delicate brow lifted, "Oh really?"  
He recognized the challenge in her voice, and met her head on, "Absolutely."

She pulled away from him the slightest bit, "Then maybe I need to remind you what a real strip tease looks like, Damon, then I'm sure you could compare the difference for yourself."

He blinked at her, not sure how to respond, as she grinned, then turned her back to him.  
As he swallowed, her arms reached around, grabbing the bottom of her shirt.

Then slowly, agonizingly, she slipped it up, inch by inch, revealing more and more of her flawless skin, and those damn pink panties that slipped up to show the perfect curve of her ass.

Finally, the shirt lifted completely, and she pulled it over her head.  
He was hard before she had even turned.

Staring at Elena was one of his favorite past times, but in that second, he couldn't have pulled his eyes from her, even if he wanted to.  
She slowly turned her body, giving him a spectacular view, until she was finally fully facing him.

He greedily took her in, committing every change to memory.

Her skin was still perfect, no clues to her pregnancy lingering there, but her hips had rounded out, giving her a more mature structure.  
Her legs were as smooth as always, and he had a fleeting thought that she must work out, because her muscles, even the ones in her stomach were shapely, defined.

He followed his line of sight then, up the dip in her stomach, to her breast, which were covered by a simple yellow bra.

He noted how strange it was to see a mismatched set, with the pink underwear, and had to remind himself that Elena wasn't planning on this.  
Girls dressed in matching underwear when they planned on showing it off.  
If they didn't, what was the point in bothering?

Elena didn't seem to mind that he was staring, practically drooling, over her body as she stood in front of him, and he had to swallow when she stepped even closer.  
Her hands lifted then, one trailing down her neck, across the dip of her breast, and down her stomach.

"What's the matter?" she challenged, "No more witty comments?"  
He couldn't have strung together a witty sentence to save his life, no matter the hit it would take on his ego, later.

Right now, he was perfectly fine having her like this in front of him.

She walked forward even more, taking her original position, back between his legs.  
Her hands braced on either of his thighs, and she leaned down, so they were eye level, and so that her breast were even more noticeable to him, "Now that was deliberate."

He nodded, meeting her eyes, "You're right. I could definitely see the difference."  
"Good," she smirked, "Now you won't make that mistake again."

She straightened, then moved away from him, heading toward the jeans she'd left on the dresser, but Damon moved quickly, grabbing her arm.

"And where are you going?"  
She blinked at him, "I'm getting dressed."

"Ah, ah," he shook his finger at her, "You said you'd show me a proper strip tease."  
He let his eyes fall over her, making his point, "And sweetheart, you're about two articles of clothing away from being finished."

He delighted in the blush on her face, feeling accomplished for shaking up her game.  
"I feel like my point was made," she argued.

He pursed his lips, "Was it? Can you be sure? Because I'm not."  
She shook her head, "Nice try, but I think you are well aware of the differences now. You even admitted it."

He shrugged, "I changed my mind."  
Her eyes narrowed, "You aren't allowed to just change your mind."  
"Says who?" he inquired.  
"I don't know," she exhaled, "You just can't."  
"But how am I supposed to know the real difference if you are too shy to finish the strip tease that I argued hard to earn."

She laughed, "Okay, you didn't earn a strip tease. I was simply showing you the style in which you can remove clothes that signify teasing or signify changing. And that, I think you are now clear on."

He smirked, "You know, if you're too embarrassed, you can just admit it?"  
Her brow shot up, "I am not embarrassed!"  
"Then why are you blushing?" he teased.  
The red got even darker on her face, "Because you're picking on me."  
"I'm not picking," he reasoned, "I'm negotiating."  
"To get me naked," she shot.  
He grinned, "Can't blame a guy for trying."

Her eyes set then, and they both stared at each other.

Damon could feel the tension passing between them, but he wasn't going to move until Elena decided.  
And somehow, they both understood that the answer needed to be given now.

He watched as Elena swallowed, then with a look of determination, reached behind her.

A moment later, her bra fell to the floor.

Damon couldn't control himself.  
His gaze automatically followed, eating up the view.

Elena in front of him, wearing only a little scrap of pink.  
Her full breast lifted with each breath she took, and he could tell her heart was pounding.

But she had taken that step.  
She wanted this as much as he did.

* * *

Elena tried to keep her breathing even.  
It was a difficult thing to accomplish with Damon's eyes darkening, focused on her like a preadator and it's prey.

She wasn't sure what she had expected to happen.  
Only that she somehow knew that was her move, and now, she awaited his.

Once his eyes had had their fill, his gaze found hers.  
She fought back that damn blush.

"Come here," he commanded in that sure tone of his.  
She couldn't help but obey.

In two short steps, she was in front of him, but to her surprise, he didn't lift a hand to her.  
He didn't lean down, and didn't remove his eyes from hers.  
She swallowed again.

"You know how I feel about this," he stated, his voice a lot softer than it had been a second ago, "You know how I feel about you."

She could only nod.

"I don't want to pressure you," he assured her, his gaze slipping, momentarily, to her body, "But I need to know what you want. Because we have an hour before Chris wakes up and if you don't stop me, I'm going to throw you back on that bed, and you wont leave it for the next sixty minutes."

His eyes were certain, dark.  
He wasn't playing anymore.

And neither was she.

Drawing in a shaky breath, she nodded slowly, "Kiss me."  
And he did.

* * *

**Yes, evil cliffhanger, I know!  
Hope you guys enjoyed :)**

**Please, please review and let me know what you think! :)**


	35. Chapter 35

**Okay, don't hate me too much ;)**

**This chapter's a little longer, so hopefully that'll make up for it.**

**Plus it's cute :)**

**Anyway...on with it!**

* * *

"I said I was sorry," Caroline huffed, yet again, as she and Elena moved another table, "Really, really, sorry."

"I know," Elena smiled, "It just sucks."

"Well, if I'd known you were finally about to get some, I'd have called someone else! You should have told me!"

Elena shook her head as they sat it down, "Yeah, that would have sounded great. Sorry I can't get there early to help, Care, because I'm kind of about to start having really hot sex with my son's father, see you in an hour!"

Caroline laughed, "Okay, okay, but you could have said _something_! I totally cock-blocked you guys, and I feel awful."

Elena laughed, "Not as awful as Damon."  
Caroline smirked as they moved to grab the next one, but didn't follow up.

Elena sighed.

Damon had kissed her so passionately, so hungrily, that she was literally out of her mind during the moments his hands were on her.

He'd done exactly as he'd promised, tossing her onto her bed, before covering her with his body.

His mouth was hot on hers, his hands trailing over her burning skin, and she let herself feel every part of him again.  
His mouth had kissed down her neck, and onto her breast, when just their luck, her phone had started blaring.

She'd ignored it at first, hoping the person would leave a voice mail, but then it had rang again, and she'd groaned, asking Damon to hold on, before answering it.

Of course, it was an overly excited Caroline, needing her help setting up early, because they had a last minute booth cancellation that had thrown off the entire order she'd set up, and it's Caroline, so of course, this was an emergency crisis that had to be dealt with immediately, because the world was going to end if one little thing was out of place, ect. ect. ect.

Elena had reluctantly agreed to help, despite Damon's pouting face, and had assured Caroline that she'd be there as fast as possible.

Damon hadn't been too happy about the delay in their personal plans, but she'd kissed him, and promised to make up for it later.  
She'd left then, to get dressed, and he'd went down the hall to wake up Chris.

And now, an hour later, the crisis was averted, and Elena couldn't stop thinking about the morning she could have had, if she'd just ignored the damn phone call.

She and Damon had been dancing around each other ever since he'd returned, and she knew it was only a matter of time before they really were together, in her bed, but maybe this delay was a good thing.

Now that she could think clearly, without those intense eyes watching her, she could reason with herself.  
She'd said that she was going to take it slow.

But teasing him this morning had been way too good of an opportunity to miss.  
And he definitely wasn't complaining.

She shivered at the memory of his commanding tone, telling her exactly what he was going to do if she gave into him.  
There hadn't been a single unwilling bone in her body then.

She exhaled, focusing on keeping her breathing even, as not to let on how bothered she really was.  
Caroline was quick to catch these things.

"So, what else is on our list?" Elena asked, once they'd grabbed the last of the small tables.

Caroline reached over and grabbed the clipboard she'd sat on one of them.  
"We have to make sure each booth is categorized, you know, with the signs telling which is which. The elementary students painted the signs for them, they are so cute."

Elena smiled, "I take it Nik and Lex had their share in the fun."  
The blond smiled, "Of course."

She took a deep breath, looking around, "Don't you just love Halloween?"  
Elena smirked, "I loved it a lot more when Chris was younger and actually wanted to trick-or-treat."

"You just liked stealing his chocolate," Caroline accused.  
Elena laughed, "That was definitely a perk of it."

Her friend smiled, "Where is Chris anyway?"  
Elena shrugged, "Not sure. Val found us when we arrived and sent him and Damon for supplies or something."

Caroline nodded, "So how's all that going? With them?"  
As if the smile on her face wasn't answer enough, "Good...really good."

"Yeah?" Caroline pressed, her tone declaring details.  
"Chris is calling him Dad now."

Caroline actually paused slightly in their walk, "Seriously?!"  
"Seriously," Elena chuckled.

Her friend squealed, "Oh my god, I knew they'd hit it off! I'm so happy for you guys! Really, you and Chris deserve to have someone who's gonna love you and be there for you!"

"And the fact that he's your brother in law means..." Elena teased.

Caroline stuck her tongue out, "Hey, if you two get married down the road, and you and I happen to be related for real then, I'm not going to complain."

Elena just grinned, shaking her head.

"So how'd it happen?" the blond pressed, once they'd reached her car, where the signs were.

"Well," Elena thought, "Damon wanted to spend some time with him, you know, alone, so he picked him up early Friday and they went to the Grill. He didn't really tell me what all they talked about, only that it went good. Then I was trying to make some pies, and they both agree with you about my baking skills, apparently."

Caroline chuckled, but didn't interrupt.

"So we were in the kitchen, and they hijacked my recipe, double teaming me, so I couldn't reach it, then Damon said something about it being a Salvatore thing, and Chris slipped the Dad bomb."

"Wow," Caroline grinned, "I bet Damon was ecstatic."  
Elena chuckled now, "Actually, I think emotional would be the better word. And the fact that Chris didn't even mean to say it, just made it that much...better, I guess. It's just one of those moments you don't really have words for."

Care nodded, "I know exactly what you mean. But still, it's great that everything is working out. I still can't believe Damon practically said that he loved you. I mean, it's not the same as an actual declaration of love, but it's pretty damn close!"

Elena smiled at her, "You know, I didn't tell you that so you could analyze the details."  
"Oh, Elena, you know I can't help myself," Caroline defended.

"Oh I know," she smirked, "But do try, please. I mean, you have tons of stuff to worry about for today. Don't add my drama on top of it."

Her friend shot her a look, "You know I'd put your drama before any town event, Lena. There'll be another Fall Festival next year...but this, going on with you, it's happening now."

Elena grinned, "That was pretty deep, Care."  
"I know," her friend smiled bubbly, "But seriously, I'm here for you."

Elena nodded, "I know that, and thanks Care. You've helped me through everything that's ever gone haywire in my life, and I'm really lucky to have a friend like you."

"Same," Caroline agreed, "Thing would be boring without you and Chris hanging around."  
Elena chuckled, "Don't tell him that. He already thinks he's all that. Doesn't need that ego fanned anymore."

Caroline smirked, "Is he coming to the Festival tonight?"  
She shook her head, "No, him and some friends wanted to go to the haunted house in Grandville."

"I thought he was grounded," Caroline questioned.  
"Technically, he is," Elena agreed, "But Damon made a point, and I realized something. Chris has been doing really well, especially given everything that's happened lately, and with all the changes that are still coming, I figured a fun night out with his friends might throw some normal back into his routine."

"Not a bad idea," Caroline reasoned, as they sorted through the signs and started walking down the line of booths to hang them, "But it's a good thing that he's taking everything so well."  
"Absolutely," Elena agreed, "I just wished there was a way to ease everything together so we don't end up with a crash course."

"You won't," Caroline droned, "You and Damon are perfect for each other, and Chris needs his dad. All this is happening exactly how it's supposed to."

"Says the eternal optimist," she teased.  
Caroline didn't deny it.

Elena sighed, "I wish my dad saw things the same way."  
Caroline gave her a sympathetic look, "He will eventually."

Elena shrugged, "I don't know...you didn't see his face, Care. He really hates Damon for some reason. And I guess I could see his concern, from a parent's point of view, but he should respect me enough to trust me to make the right decision for me and my son."

"Definitely," the blond agreed, "I still can't believe what he said to Chris."  
"You're telling me," Elena nodded, "Completely unnecessary. For once, I'm just glad Chris inherited that Salvatore stubbornness. Otherwise he would have just agreed with Dad, instead of finding out for himself."

"Ugh, I hate that stubbornness," Caroline groaned, "Stefan, Niklaus, and Lexi...they drive me crazy sometimes. Like, they'll get their minds set on something, and there is no swaying them."

Elena thought back to Damon this morning, and blushed, "Yeah...I know what you mean."

Caroline eyed her, "What's that look?"  
Elena blinked, "What look?"  
"That I'm-thinking-of-Mr-tall-dark-and-handsome-but-totally-denying-it look," Caroline smirked.  
Elena smiled, "Is it that obvious."

The blond raised a brow, but didn't comment.

"Come on," Elena directed, needing the distraction, "Let's finish setting these signs up."  
Caroline nodded, reaching for the next one.

* * *

"Then, supposedly, there's this huge mirror maze at the end, where these clowns come out and try to make you get lost because the mirrors are constantly moving and they keep making you walk in circles for like ten minutes, unless you can find your way out," Chris was explaining.

"How are you supposed to be scared if you already know what to expect?" Damon asked, with a smirk, as they loaded the last of the bags into the car.

His mother had a number of things that she'd lacked and had taken the first chance to send them after it, but Damon didn't mind.  
It gave him more time to spend with Chris.

"Oh, it's still gonna be freaky," Chris noted, "But the point isn't really to be scared, it's just something to do. And the girls will be freaked, which is kinda funny."

Damon laughed, "You should try scaring your Aunt Caroline sometime. That girl has the loudest scream I've ever heard."  
"Yeah?" Chris rose a brow as they got into the car.

Damon nodded, "One summer, a group of us snuck down to the old Lockwood tunnels, and-"  
"Wait," Chris interrupted, "You guys used those tunnels too?"

Damon nodded, "Mason, your Tyler friend's uncle, ran around with our crowd. We'd sneak down there a lot after dark, just to party or hang out. They lead back into the tunnels that trace all around the town."

"Yeah, we used to play in them when we were younger," Chris noted.

"They were cool," Damon admitted, "But yeah, so one night we were all hanging out down there, and Mason decides to spin some bull story of how the whole place is haunted by the slaves of the founding families, who were out for revenge. Caroline and your mom were so wrapped up in what he was saying, that me and a friend, Enzo, decided to sneak up on them."

Chris laughed, "How'd that go?"  
"Your mom hit me," he chuckled, "But Caroline, man, that girl just about woke the dead."  
Chris chuckled, "Somehow that doesn't surprise me."

They kept up the small talk for the rest of the drive, seeing as it didn't take long to make it back to the square.

Damon was impressed with how much had been done within the hour they'd been gone.  
Games and booths were set up all around, including giant blow ups of ghosts, pumpkins, witches, and other Halloween creatures.

A giant banner hung over the square's entrance, orange, with big black letter's declaring it the 47th annual Mystic Fall Festival.  
Also, the amount of helpers had doubled, and the whole square was now buzzing with activity, including a maintenance team, working to set up a stage.

"I don't remember it being quite this big of a deal last time I was here," Damon noted.

Chris smirked, as they got out of the car, and started grabbing bags.  
"Probably because Caroline wasn't in charge last time you were here."

Damon considered this, "They actually let her be in charge?"  
Chris shrugged, "More or less. I mean, there's a committee of course, but Aunt Care's running a lot of it."  
"Ah," Damon nodded, "Sounds like her."

They finally had everything, and shut the car doors.  
"Where's Grandma Val supposed to be?" Chris asked.

Damon shrugged, "She didn't say...but I think your mom's supposed to be setting up the face painting area. Let's go find her. She should know where all this goes."  
Chris nodded, and they made their way over to the games and booths.

It didn't take long to find Elena, who was sitting on a fold out chair, under a tented area, writing something on a sign with a sharpie.

"Hey," she greeted them with a smile, after looking up, "You made it back."  
"Barely," Chris groaned, sitting the handful of bags down.

Damon did the same, before leaning over and planting a kiss on Elena's cheek.  
She blushed slightly, probably because Chris was there, but Damon planned on making this habit, and they'd all have to get used to it anyway.

"So, um, did you find everything?" She pressed, striking the conversation."  
"I think so," Damon nodded, taking a seat in the chair opposite to her, "Mom's list was pretty extensive."

"Try obsessive," Chris noted, "I think she gets more paranoid each year."  
Elena smiled, "These things are stressful to pull off, but it'll work out. It always does."

They nodded, as Chris's phone beeped.  
He checked it.

"April's with Tyler and some others at the Grill. They need help bringing out the catered dishes," he sighed, "I guess I'll catch you later."

Elena smirked, "Just a few more hours and you're off the hook," she promised.  
He nodded gratefully, before taking off across the street.

Damon watched him until he disappeared into the Grill's front door.  
Elena's throat clearing brought his attention back to her, "Yeah?"

"Where are you taking all of this?" she asked, motioning to the bags.  
"Not sure," he sighed, "Mom didn't tell me. I was hoping you'd know where she was."

"Good luck," Elena stated, "She's been running about all morning, right along with my mother and Mayor Lockwood. I swear, the women in this town..."  
He chuckled, "Might want to be careful with the words there, sweetheart, seeing as you too, are a woman in this town."

She waved it off, "Whatever. I'll help, but these events aren't my life. Poor Caroline. She's already being sucked into the madness."  
"Where is Miss. Bossy-pants?" Damon inquired, looking around.

He was almost sure he'd find her with Elena, but that didn't seem to be the case.

"She had to go help Carol with some catastrophe with the band's speakers. I don't know. She said she'd be back later and that I just needed to make sure these signs were readable."

She glanced down at her creation and Damon smiled.  
It was nice, seeing her like this.  
Helping people had always been her thing, and she was definitely in her element now, surrounded by the buzz of their home town, the sun getting higher in the sky, and the chilled breeze blowing through her hair.

He wondered when the last time was that he'd actually set back and observed the beauty of life around him.  
It was easy to do with Elena in the picture.  
On top of such a perfect fall day.

Casually, he reached over, taking her hand.  
Her head lifted, as she stared at their intertwining fingers, then her eyes met his.

He smirked at her, "Happy Halloween, Elena."  
A smile graced her lips, "Happy Halloween, Damon."

* * *

Chris balanced four trays of halved sandwiches on his arms, as he followed April and Tyler across the lot.

This was supposed to be the last of them.

Once reaching the table, April sat down her handful first, before turning and grabbing his, stacking them neatly in order.  
He wasn't sure if she did this because Caroline would behead her if she didn't, or because unlike the guys, she actually enjoyed these crazy town events.

"Is that all of it?" Tyler asked, stretching his arm out.  
April nodded, "I think so, unless your mom mentioned anything else we needed to do..."

Tyler shook his head, "Nope. We set up the tents earlier, and that was the majority of what she needed us for. The rest of today has been odds and ends that the adults are dishing out in a rush."

Chris leaned back against one of the poles that were holding a tent up, "It'll be over soon," he reasoned, "They're sending everyone home at noon. Then the workers are coming back at four."

"What time are we leaving for Grandville?" Tyler asked.

Chris shrugged, "I told the boys that we could meet here, in the square at six, decide whose all going and what vehicles we need to take."

Tyler nodded, "Okay cool. And we can crash at my house after."  
Chris considered this, "I'll have to run it by my mom, but yeah, that sounds good...what about you?"

April sighed, "Amber is insisting that we all go to her house afterwards. Her parents rented a ton of scary movies, and we're having a girl's night."

"Sound's like fun," Tyler interjected, "What time will ya'll be sneaking out to join us?"

April laughed, moving Chris's arm so it hung on her shoulder, "We wont be tonight. Sorry, but it's strictly girls only, after midnight."

Chris smiled at her, "Well, I'm sure you'll have fun."  
"Most likely," she agreed, "But I'm really looking forward to this haunted house."

"Yeah, it's gonna be kick ass," Tyler agreed, "I talked to Carter Leighton, who went last week, and he said it was pretty fucked up. You girls are gonna be screaming your asses off."

"Oh please," April shot, "We have to stare at you everyday. What monster can measure up to that?"

"Haha, very funny," Tyler snarked, "I guess if all else fails you could just insult them to death."

She smirked, "Is your ego really so delicate that you found _that_ insulting?"  
He smirked, teasingly, "I find your tone insulting...and slightly bullying."

She laughed, "You gonna go tattle on me then? I think your mom's around somewhere. We could go explain how the big bad girl is picking on her poor wittle football star."

Tyler pursed his lips, "You think you're cute, don't you."  
She shrugged, "Not hard to be cute while standing next to you."

Chris laughed as Tyler huffed, "Chris, better get your girl, man."

"What can I say," Chris chuckled, "She's opinionated."  
"She's mean," Tyler pouted.

April only grinned, "Remember that next time you want to pick on me."  
Chris was sure that Tyler wanted to stick his tongue out at her, but wouldn't stoop to such a thing in public.  
"Yeah, yeah, Young."

April brushed it off, and leaning into Chris's shoulder.  
Tyler had pulled out his phone and was fiddling with something, when April exhaled.

"Chris...is that your parents?"  
He followed her line of sight, and noticed Stefan, talking to his mom and dad.

Only, Damon's hand was wrapped around Elena's waist, almost casually, and his mom was leaning into him, her head against him.

The smile on her face was huge, as they laughed at something, and Chris couldn't help but smile in return, just glad to see her happy.

"Yeah, that's them."  
April smiled too, "They look happy."

His grin widened, and he couldn't help but squeeze her a little tighter into him, "I think they are."  
She looked up at him, "Are you?"

He tilted his head, meeting her crystal blue eyes, "Of course, babe. How could I not be?"  
He placed a quick kiss on her lips, then glanced back over to his parents.

They did look happy.  
Really happy, just to be holding each other again.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his mother look up at a man the way she was staring at Damon now, and wasn't sure if she ever had.  
It kind of reminded him of the way April looked at him sometimes.

He leaned his head against hers, happy to stand here, taking in the scene forever.  
Happiness.

That was definitely what he was feeling.  
Happy.

* * *

**I will bring some smut in soon, I promise! Lol.**

**Sorry about the tease!**

**But other than that little streak of meanness, what did you think?**

**Damon/Chris bonding, Caroline/Elena.  
****How do you think the night will go?  
****Chris's thoughts at the end?**

**Please review! :)**


	36. Chapter 36

**So excited!  
Today's my birthday, and I'm finally getting to go to SeaWorld.  
But I managed to get this posted first for you guys, because I love you all! ;)**

**Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

The day passed faster than Elena had realized.

As they finished the last minute touch ups, the sun had started sinking, and Damon drove Chris home, so that they could get ready and be back before six.  
She'd stuck around at Miranda's request, finishing the ticket packages at the entrance.

Caroline now sauntered toward her, "Good your still here!"  
Elena glanced up at her, "Yep, just finishing up though."

The blond nodded, "It's almost five. Damn. I need to leave soon, and make sure Stefan got the kid's costumes figured out."

Elena nodded, finishing the last of the bags, "See you later tonight then?"  
"Yes," Caroline agreed, leaning onto the table, "By the way, what are you wearing?"

Elena rose a brow, "You mean my costume?"  
"Duh," Caroline droned, "You were supposed to find one weeks ago, so you wouldn't forget like you have for the past three years."

"Yeah, yeah," Elena nodded, "But I've been busy lately and things slip my mind."  
"So you didn't get one?" Caroline pouted.

Elena chuckled, "I have one, but it's nothing big."  
"What do you mean?"  
Elena pulled out her phone, and pulled up the picture of the nurses costume she'd found in a thrift shop.

Caroline appraised it, "It's not bad, but..."  
"But what?" Elena inquired.  
"But it doesn't send out any kind of message," she reasoned, "Seriously, you and Damon have been flirting it up all day, and your costume needs to scream at him...and this...well, this isn't even trying!"

Elena laughed, "I bought this before he came back, remember? I wasn't exactly thinking about trying to raise anyone's blood pressure."

Caroline sighed, "Fine, you win that one, but still. The point is you need to raise his blood pressure...not to mention something else..."  
"Caroline!" Elena exclaimed with a blush, "So not going there."

"Oh, honey, we're already there!" Her friend teased, straightening, "Okay, come on."  
"To where?" Elena asked hesitantly, allowing Caroline to help her up.

"To my car," the blond reasoned, "I know exactly what you need!"  
Elena swallowed, "Should I be afraid.?"

"No, you should be grateful!" Caroline demanded, "Because I spent all month planning this costume, and it was going to be a surprise for Stefan tonight, after the kids went to sleep, but something tells me that you're gonna need it a lot more than me."

Elena scoffed, "Please tell me you aren't expecting me to tramp around the town square in lingerie..."  
"It's not lingerie!" Caroline defended, then winked, "But it does come with a matching bra and pantie set."  
"Great," Elena groaned, as they reached the car.

Caroline opened the back seat door, and pulled a box toward her.  
After flipping the slides of it, the top slid off, and Elena saw a lot of white.

"What is that?"  
"It's your costume," Caroline smiled, pulling it from the packaging and holding it up.

"The tag named it Little Taste Of Heaven, but I thought it was adorable and sexy, so I bought it."  
Elena looked it over.

It was an angel costume.  
A short little dress, with a corset top.

Definitely sexy, and certainly a little questionable in decency.  
"I don't know, Care..."

"You're wearing it," the blond commanded, "We're the same size, so it'll fit. The wings look amazing with it, and Damon won't be able to take his eyes off of you."

"You don't think it's a little...little?" She questioned.  
Caroline smirked, "It'll be fine! You're sexy, Elena. Own it. Besides, the white will look perfect with your tanned skin, and I have some body glitter. So just curl your hair, twist it up, and put on those lacy Gordon heeled boots. It'll look hot."

Elena eyed her, "There's no talking you out of this, is there?"  
"Not a chance," she agreed.  
Elena sighed, "Fine, give me the damn costume."

Caroline grinned, placing it back in the box and handing it to her, "Your welcome!"  
"Uhhu," Elena smirked.  
"You'll be thanking me later," Caroline promised, pulling her into a hug.

Elena hugged her back, "If you say so...I'll see you at six?"  
Her friend nodded, "I'll be in by back up costume."

"What exactly was your back up costume?"  
Caroline sighed dreamily, "Marilyn Monroe."  
"Wow."  
"Yup."

They both giggled, and Elena shook her head, "Well Marilyn, I'll see you later."  
"See ya!" Caroline smiled, waving.  
Still smirking, Elena made her way to her car, clutching the box in her hands.  
This was going to be interesting.

* * *

Damon ran a hand through his hair for the fourth time that evening.

He and Chris had finished an entire card game as they waited for Elena to finish getting ready, and she was still in her room.

"How much longer can she be?" Chris groaned.  
Damon smirked at him, "Might as well get use to this, Chris. Women are always gonna make you wait."

"Not encouraging," he grinned back, staring down the hall, "We're gonna be late if she isn't through soon."  
"Nah, we'll be fine," Damon supported, checking the time on his phone, "You got everything you need? Jacket, money?"

"Yeah," Chris nodded, "And my phone's fully charged, so I'll text you guys the second we figure out whose all going with who."

"Is that the only condition your mom gave you?"  
Chris shrugged, "That, and to behave myself. I have to admit though, I'm surprised she's letting me stay over at Tyler's tonight...did you say something to her?"

Damon shook his head, "No, that was all her decision. I only stepped in last night because it's Halloween, and I'm sure you could use some fun, especially given all the changes lately. But your mother is still right about a lot of it. When you get grounded, it sucks, but you have to do the time, otherwise, it doesn't mean anything."

He nodded, "I know, I know. I'm just really glad she's letting me go tonight...so thanks, for helping persuade her."  
Damon chuckled, "I wish I could take the credit, but I think we know your mother doesn't do anything she doesn't want to do."

"True," Chris allowed, "Though I wish she'd want to hurry."  
He looked toward the hall, "Mooom! We need to leave soon!"

A rushed, "Okay, okay!" was the answer, and a few moments later, the bedroom door opened.  
Elena came into the living room, and Damon smiled at her appearance.

Her hair was twisted elegantly into a bun on the top of her head, with loose curls framing her face.  
Her makeup was more than she usually wore, and the white eye-shadow was a starking difference to her doe brown eyes.

He couldn't see her costume, as she was wearing a thin calf-lengthen coat, but a tuft of something white was sticking out from the bottom, under the last button.

"Sorry," she exhaled, "But I'm ready now."  
"Good," Chris sighed, standing, "Let's go, please."

Damon also stood, as Elena grabbed her keys, and tossed them over to him, "You drive."  
He smirked, "Yes ma'am."

It took less than five minutes after parking for Chris to take off.  
Damon assumed he was in a hurry to meet up with his friends, so they could get going before it got too dark.

He walked around, opening Elena's door, and helping her out.  
"Do we need to grab anything?" He asked, checking the backseat.

"Just this," she said, holding up a bag in her hand, "I brought everything up here earlier. We just have to walk around and make sure nobody needs help with anything."

He nodded, "Sounds good."  
He slipped an arm around her shoulder then, and lead her toward the square.

Caroline spotted them first, of course, as she buzzed around one of the booths, and waved them over.  
Elena slid out from his arm, but took his hand, leading the way.

"I was wondering when you guys were going to get here!" she stated, shifting through some sheets.  
"My fault," Elena smiled, "Hair didn't want to cooperate."

"It's perfect though," Damon whispered into her ear.

She glanced up at him, but Caroline was already talking, "It's no biggie. Everything's actually going pretty smooth...But I think the guys were bringing extra speakers over from the Grill, so Damon, if you wanted to go help, I think Stefan's over there."

He nodded, "Sure."  
Kissing the side of Elena's head, he took off toward the Grill.

* * *

"Your makeup looks amazing," Caroline smiled the moment Damon was out of hearing range.  
Elena chuckled, "Thanks."

"But you should really ditch the coat. It's not even cold out here, and there's no point in wearing the costume if you're just going to hide it."

"I know," Elena sighed, "It's just so...revealing. I mean, I haven't worn anything like this since Chris was born, and it feels weird."

Caroline gave her a look, then finally nodded, "Okay, sorry. I'm being pushy. But you really should have more confidence in yourself. I mean, you're gorgeous. And you do want to grab Damon's attention, don't you?"

"I think so," Elena answered hesitantly, "Don't get me wrong, I like the costume, and it does look good, and I'm sure Damon would love it too...but it's not just me and Damon out here. My parents are here somewhere, and so is my son...it's awkward."

Caroline giggled, "I promise you, it's not that bad. I checked at the store before I even bought it. I wouldn't embarrass you that way. Really, it's fine. Maybe a little revealing, but not inappropriately so."

Elena raised a brow, "You're sure?"  
"Absolutely," Caroline nodded, "You'll look perfect! Wait where are your wings?"

"In the bag," she answered, holding it up.  
"Put them on!" Care encouraged.

Elena sighed, before finally reaching up and undoing the buttons on the coat, and slid it off, tossing it onto one of the chairs next to Caroline, then reached into the bag and pulled out the wings, sliding them into place.

She did a little twirl, just for the hell of it, and placed her hands on her hips, "You approve?"  
Caroline laughed, "Oh yes! Definitely!"

She wolf-whistled for good measure, making Elena chuckle, "Okay, okay...now that the show's over, what can I do?"

Caroline pushed a stack of papers her way, "All we have to focus on tonight is this."  
Elena looked down at the forms, recognizing them from past years.

"So we're just separating them into the right categories?" Elena asked, making sure she was clear on the task.  
The blond nodded, "Yep. Children's Hospital is this stack," she motioned to the first one, "The food pantry is this one, and the bridge restoration fundraiser is this stack."

Elena nodded, leaning over to get a better look at the papers, "Seems easy enough."  
"Yeah, we'll be done in no time," Caroline assured her.

Elena smiled, getting to work, as the laughter of towns folk filled her ears, everyone and their children out to celebrate in the community.

* * *

Damon helped Stefan settle the last of the speakers behind the stage, leaving the crew to set it up.

"I thought this was take care of earlier," Damon wondered at his brother.  
Stefan shrugged, "Guess it wasn't load enough for them."

"Ah," Damon nodded, knowing how that could be.  
"But at least that's the last of it," Stefan nodded, "As long as we avoid our mother and my wife, we shouldn't be corroded into anything else."

Damon chuckled, "You know that's impossible, right."  
Stefan grinned, "One can dream."

Damon clapped him on the shoulder, before motioning back toward the booth he'd left Elena at, "Come on, lets get back to them."

Stefan fell into step with him, agreeing easily.  
He picked fun at Caroline's bossiness occasionally, but Damon had seen, even in this short time, just how much Stefan loved the girl.  
They had a beautiful family, and he really regretted staying out of touch all of those years, and missing so much.

But at least he was getting the chance to be apart of it all now.

They walked in silence across the increasingly crowded square until Stefan let out a low whistle, "Man, you better thank my wife."

Damon shot him a confused look, "Why's that?"  
Stefan motioned a few yards away, "Because I can promise you that _that _wasn't Elena's idea."

Damon followed his gaze, and immediately realized what he meant.  
He felt his eyes bulge a little, and he tried to swallow against his suddenly dry throat.

Elena had removed the over coat, and was leaning casually over the booth table, looking at a paper Caroline was holding.  
The jacket had hid her costume from him, and now he was kind of glad, because there was no way he'd have let her leave the house without ripping it off of her.

The short, poofed skirt showed off her long tan legs, and the tightly fitted corset top hugged her curves to perfection.  
She practically glowed in the sunset, the last of the light bouncing off her shimmering angel wings, and all he could think was that he couldn't get his hands on her fast enough.

"Forget the thank you," Damon exhaled, "I'll send her a fucking gift basket."  
His brother chuckled as they closed the rest of the distance to their women.

* * *

Elena turned, just as Damon's hands landed on her waist.

Without hesitation, or discreteness, he kissed her.  
In the middle of the town, for the whole world to see.

And she kissed him back, for once choosing not to give a damn about what anybody thought of it, and lived in the moment.

Damon's lips were hard against hers, wanting and teasing, but he pulled away before it could become inappropriate.

She took a breath, looking up at him through her lashes, "And hello to you too."  
He smiled, cupping her cheek, "I had to do that."

She smirked, as the sound of Stefan's and Caroline's conversation filled the air behind them, "I'm glad you did...but you could have at least given me some warning."

He was grinning now, "You mean like this?"  
Ever so slowly, his gaze drifted down to her lips, and he bit his own, making her knees weaken.

God this man was beautiful.

He finally leaned down, savoring each moment, until his lips finally touched hers again, in the briefest second.  
She slid her hand onto his neck, pulling him against her.  
He complied, kissing her the way she wanted.

When he pulled away, nothing but happiness radiated from his eyes.  
"I like kissing you," he said softly.  
"I like it too, but that could just be because I like you," she countered with a smile.  
His eyes heated, "And I love you."

Her breath caught, at his final admission.  
She wanted to say it back...so much, she did.  
But something in her throat kept her frozen in his arms.

He dropped his forehead to hers, kissing her nose, "You don't have to say anything" he assured her, "But I wanted to tell you. You had to know how I felt...but you don't have to say it back."

He must have sensed her inner battle, because his arms tightened around her, and he stroked her hair, "I love you, Elena. That's enough for me right now. Just let me love you."

She swallowed, "Thank you, but it's not enough for me...I have to..." she sighed, looking up and holding his gaze, "It's just a lot to take in...feeling this, for you, again..."

"I know," he assured her, stroking her back.

"It's strange," she admitted, "How everything's so different, yet at the same time, nothing's changed."

He nodded, letting her talk.  
"Until you showed up, everything's felt like a big blur...and it's like I'm finally getting some clarity. Feeling things that I thought I'd buried years ago."

"It's unnerving," he agreed, "But we can handle it."  
She bit her lip, "What makes you so sure?"

He twirled a piece of her hair around his finger, "Because I think we're meant for each other. We made it back to this place, and after everything, we are right here, where we wanted to be, so many years ago. That has to say something about what we felt for each other, doesn't it? What we still feel..."

She nodded, "It does...because I've never been able to get over you."

"I dreamed about you for years after I left," he admitted, "I never thought a life with you was possible, after what I did, but Elena, you've always been it for me. And despite everything, I love you, so much. I know that without a single doubt. And I don't plan on letting you slip through my fingers again."

She closed her eyes as a smile covered her lips, "I wish you knew how long I've wanted to hear you say these things."  
He lifted her chin up, until she looked at him, "Get used to it sweetheart, because I plan on being here, telling you I love you, every day, for as long as you'll let me."

She nodded, "Then I'll wake up every morning, kiss you, and say I love you too...because I do, Damon. It scares me to death, but I'm in love with you. And no amount of time is going to change that."

The smile he gave her reached his eyes, and as he leaned down, claiming her lips once more, she was the happiest she ever remembered being.

This was all she'd ever wanted.  
This love that she believed in, so much, that she was willing to take a risk, on the chance that maybe it would be everything she'd dreamed of.

And with the way Damon was staring at her, as if she was the only thing in his world, she thought that maybe, just maybe, it really was.

* * *

**So much fluff! I loved writing this chapter :)**

**Soooo, what did you guys think?**

**I really really would love a lot of beautiful review to read when I get up in a few hours ;) **

**Please?**

**For my birthday ;)**

**Lol, love you guys, thanks for all the support!**


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